SLAVE 
INSURRECTIONS IN VIRGINIA 

(1830-1865) 

A Dissertation Presented to the Board of University Studies 

of the Johns Hopkins University for the Degree 

of Doctor of Philosophy 



By 
William Sidney Drewry 



washington 

The Neale Company 

1900 



^ .5". 



,fK 



Copyright, 1900, by William S. Drewry 



t?d'QO 



TO 

MY VALUED FRtEND AND KIND 

INSTRUCTOR, 

Richard Heath Dabney, M. A., Ph. D., 

PROFKSSOR OF HISTOKY, UNIVERSITY OK VinGINIA, 

WHOSE INCITATION AND SYMPATHY HAVE 

EVER INSPIRED ME, 

THIS VOLUME 

IS GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 1. 

REVIVED 1MP0RTA>;CE OF SDAVERY— Industrial, so- 
cial and political development— Revived study of eco- 
nomies—Virginia's progress in internal improvements 
and education— Improved condition of the negro, socially, 
politically, and intellectually 9 

CHAPTER II. 

THE INSURRECTION— Description of Southampton Coun- 
ty-Its condition, social, political, and financial— The de- 
velopment of the plot: time chosen for arousing the 
slaves; character of the originator of the insurrection — 
The raid: from the meeting in the woods to the first re- 
sistance at Parker's Field; from Pai'ker's Field to Nat's 
return to the rendezvous in the woods — Pursuit and 
capture of the insurgents; why the negroes were not 
sooner suppressed by the citizens; cause of the delay of 
distant militia; aid furnished by Virginia and Carolina 
troops; efficient service of cavalry; cases of rashness 
and escape of guilty negroes; reason and humanity pre- 
vail; captm*e of Nat Turner— Trials and executions. ... 20 

CHAPTER HI. 

EEIiATIONS TO SLAVERY AND THE SOUTH— Condi- 
tion of the negroes of the county— System of labor such 
as to inspire ambition in the slave— Class system and 
pride— Pew overseers and poor whites — Reciprocal con- 
fidence of master and servant— Great emancipation senti- 
ment — Only one sign of rebellion previous to 1831, and 
this by negroes smuggled into the countj^-- Causes of 
the insurrection: fanaticism and love of self-importance; 



CONTENTS. 5 

CHAPTER III.— Continued. 

inclination for robbery and plunder; influence of tlie St. 
Domingo massacre; foreign policy of the United States, 

(a) with South American Republics and West Indies, 

(b) with Mexico; Indian troubles, (a) Creeks and Chero- 
kees, (b) Seminoles of Florida; abolition movement — 
General character of the insurrection — Results: its influ- 
ence on slave legislation, the emancipation sentiment, 
arid the abolition movement throughout America lOS 

CHAPTER IV. 

CONCLUSION— Insurrection largely responsible for more 
stringent laws against negToes— Insurrections not due to 
cruelty of the slave system— ^The more sensible negroes 
remained loyal, while the weaker ones rebelled — Poreign' 
influence on negro revolts — Contiguity of three bodies 
of free negroes to the United States— Indian troubles^ 
Abolition movement in distant sections — Slave legisla- 
tion—The negro as a free citizen 181 

APPENDIX. 

A. List of negi'oes brought before the Court of Southaimpton. 195 

B. List of white persons murdered in the InsiuiTection 196 

G, Principal citizens Interviewed personally ... 197 

D, Bibliography 198 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Birthplace aud Home of Gen. G«orge H. Thomas Frontispiece 

Map of Southampton County 19 

Site of the Residence of Mr. Joseph Travis ^ft 

Portrait of Nat Turner 28 

Nat Turner's Bible ; 32 

Persons' Mill Pond 34 

Home of Mr. Salathiel Francis 38 

The Turner Farm 42 

Home of Mrs. Catherine Whitehead 44 

Barnes' M. E. Chm-ch 47 

Home of Mr. Richard Porter 49 

Home of Nathaniel Francis 50 

Cuddy at Nathaniel Francis' 52 

Portiiiit of Mrs. Lavinia Francis 54 

Portrait of Hardie Musguave 56 

Site of the Home of Capt. John T, BaiTow 58 

Elm Growing on the Grave of Capt. J. T. Barrow 60 

Capt. Newit HaiTis' Brandy Cellar 62 

Site of Kitchen at Levi Waller's 64 

Portrait of Mr. and Mi-s. Wall 67 

Old Shop at Waller's 69 

Home of Mrs. Rebecca Vaughn 70 

Blackhead Sign Post 72 

Residence of Mr. James Parker 75 

Parker's Gate "^^ 

Battlefield in Parker's Field , 76 

Bridge Over Nottoway River at Jerusalem 78 

Cypress Bridge Over Nottoway River 80 

Ridley's Quarters o2 

Residence of Dr. Simon Blunt oi 

Tui-ner's Methodist Church 86 

Nat Turner's Cave ^ 

Nat Turner's Sword ^ 

Home of Benjamin Phipps »* 



Cross Keyi 



96 



Home of James Trezevant 98 

Southampton Court House IJJ^ 

Southampton Jail 1^* 

Portrait of Mr. Collin Kitchen ^^f 

Tree Under Which Nat Turner Was Hung llo 

Place of Burial of Insurgent Negroes li'> 



PREFACE. 



This attempt to separate truth from fiction has been 
exceedingly difficult, owing to the numerous misrepre- 
sentations and exaggerations which have grown up about 
the subject. I have studied slavery, slave legislation, and 
the condition of the negro in every phase that might 
throw light upon slave insurrections. Citizens of all 
classes, former slaves as well as masters, have been inter- 
viewed. The scenes of this and other insurrections have 
been visited in company with persons thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the country and with the facts and condi- 
tions under which they occurred. Among those inter- 
viewed were members of every family that suffered at the 
hands of the Southampton insurgents. Persons who had 
guarded the prisoners and seen them executed, relatives 
of Nat Turner, Hark Travis, Nelson Williams, Jeff. Ed- 
wards, and other negroes who had known the insurgents 
personally and labored with them, all furnished me infor- 
mation. These oral traditions I have endeavored to verify 
by comparison with each other, with official letters, pro- 
ceedings of legislatures, county records, proceedings of 
county and superior courts, and other historical sources. 

The map of Southampton county has been compiled 
from data in the Agricultural Handbook of Virginia and 
from personal investigation. I went several times care- 
fully over the route traversed by the blacks, and, as far 



8 PREFACE. 

as possible, took note of the general directions and places 
in detail. Still, owing to want of adequate appliances, it 
was impossible to mark accuratelj^ every distance. 

The thanks of the author are due to Col. Robert A. 
Brock, Prof. Frank P. Brent, and Mr. W. G. Stanard for 
valuable assistance during his researches in the Virginia 
State Library and the Virginia Historical Society. It 
is impossible to mention here the many persons, both 
white and colored, who, by their interest in my undertak- 
ing, have rendered it less burdensome.^ But it is both a 
pleasure and a duty to acknowledge my obligations to 
my friends, Messrs. W. S. Francis and B. P. Woodard, 
who accompanied me in my journeys and rendered me 
distinct service in securing a better knowledge of South- 
ampton county and the illustrations of this book. I wish 
also to acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. J. C. Ballagh, 
of the Johns Hopkins University, for important sugges- 
tions. W. S. D. 

Johns Hopkins University, January, 1900, 
iSee Appendix B. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 



CHAPTER I. 
REVIVED IMPORTANCE OF SLAA'ERY. 

The third and last period into which the history of 
slavery in Virginia may be divided extends from 1830 to 
1865. This is the period during which the nation was 
welded into a composite whole, the States retaining their 
identity, but the Union becoming one and inseparable. 
This is well illustrated in national matters, such as the 
Independent Treasury Act. An industrial revolution took 
place, fostered by an era of most important inventions, 
and there arose in economics and politics some of the 
most momentous questions which have ever confronted 
the United States of America. Nor was the Slave Section 
a laggard in the general progress. In education, politics, 
and industry the South took the first stand. The first 
steam locomotive in America was run over a short road 
built from Charleston to Augusta, through the rice and 
cotton fields of South Carolina and Georgia, while the 
second one started from Baltimore over the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railway. Both were in that section of the 
country where slavery existed. Also, the first message by 
the magnetic telegraph was sent, in 1844, from Baltimore 
to Washington, and this invention was the basis of the 
great network of submarine telegraphs which now encir- 
cle the world. The first steamer, the "Savannah," sailed 
across the Atlantic from Savannah, Georgia. These, 
together with other inventions which improved the means 
of communication, served to bring men closer together, 
and connected Europe and America more closely than 



10 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

) 
Richmond and New York had formerly been. It was a 
natural consequence of this development that the great 
importance of the United States should be so impressed 
upon the world that all nations desired her friendship and 
alliance, and, reversely, that the events of the outside 
world should make a marked impression on America. 

The Administration of Andrew Jackson was the land- 
mark of this period, a time of re-formation, when the 
spoils system was introduced permanently to demoralize 
politics, and when all parties forgot the good of the whole 
country in their sectional differences. Fully conscious 
of this fact, in 1835 a committee of the Senate, with Mr. 
Calhoun as chairman, said the spoils system was as per- 
fect a scheme as could be desired for enlarging the power 
of patronage, destroying love of country, and substituting 
a spirit of subserviency and man-worship, encouraging 
vice and discouraging virtue, preparing for the subversion 
of liberty and the establishment of despotism. "His 
Presidency," says Woodrow Wilson of Jackson, "was a 
time of riot and of industrial revolt, of bawling turbu- 
lence in many quarters, and of disregard for law; and it 
has been said that the mob took its cue from the example 
of arbitrary temperament set them by the President."^ 
For the first forty years of our National Government the 
ablest and most conscientious men of both parties were 
the candidates for office, but since 1830 the grade of men 
holding office, if we except Webster, Calhoun, Clay and 
a few others, has by no means represented the highest 
moral and intellectual sentiment and force of the coun- 
try. Particularly was the truth of this shown by the 
events of the period between 1856 and 1865.^ Through 
improved means of communication, material and intel- 
lectual — especially the improved postal service and 

iDivision and Reunion, p. 115. 

-BrycB, Ainerican Commonwealth, vol. II., p. 37. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 11 

cheap newspapers — these less superior men were more 
easily rendered the mere puppets of a public sentiment, 
supported by unreflecting masses. Such false sentiment, 
encouraged by scheming politicians, gradually forced the 
country into the most useless and bloody controversy 
recorded in history, which was inevitable only in the 
absence of a broad patriotism and patience. 

This new democracy was made doubly important by 
the fact that at the beginning of the period a property 
qualification for voting, both in Europe and America, had 
been abolished and a general tendency to universal suf- 
frage introduced. In 1830 Charles X. of France was suc- 
cessfully dethroned and forced by the people, in spite of 
the bravery of the Royal Guards and the Swiss, to abdi- 
cate in favor of a plain and simple King of the People — 
Louis Philippe — who accepted a charter imposed upon 
him by the Deputies. How different the time of Louis 
XVin., who granted a charter in 1815 apparently only 
as an act of grace! So, further under Louis Philippe the 
abolition of heredity in the peerage and of the censorship 
of journals were accomplished, the suffrage extended, and 
religious toleration procured. This awakening and revo- 
lution spread to all Europe. The aristocratic government 
fell in Switzerland; liberal innovations were established 
in Germany; Italy was violently agitated; Belgium sep- 
arated from Holland; the Spanish Refugees wished to 
attempt a revolution in their own country, and England 
forced the Tories to grant the Reform Bill, so nobly advo- 
cated by William Cobbet, Francis Place, and Joseph 
Hume. England had already, in 1828, repealed the Cor- 
poration and the Test Acts and emancipated the Cath- 
olics. Even Africa and Asia felt the mighty wave of 
reform, and Mohammed Ali, the "Peter the Great" of 
Egypt, did much toward centralizing his government 
and suppressing the slave-trade. Mrs. Latimer says: 



12 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

"Some thousands of tlie fellaheen, 'disgusted with the 
endless and systematic exactions of the Egyptian Gov- 
ernment, crossed the deserts which separated Africa from 
Asia, and sought refuge in the territory of the Pasha of 
Acre.' This was in 1831, when Europe was too much 
interested in its own revolutions to pay much attention 
to the affairs of the East."^ 

Charles Greville graphically describes the state of 
affairs in Europe, when he says: "I never remember days 
like these, nor read of such, — the tenor and lively expec- 
tation that prevails, and the way in which people's mind-s 
are turned backward and forward from France to Ireland, 
then range exclusively from Poland to Piedmont, and fix 
again on the burnings, riots, and executions that are 
going on in England."^ 

Amidst all of this excitement the slaves were not for- 
gotten. In 1841 the Kingdom of France recognized the 
right of visitation on the part of England for the repres- 
sion of the slave trade, but it excited so much opposition 
that the Chamber forced the Ministers to cancel the treaty. 
In 1848, however, when the world was again aroused by 
another French revolution, a decree was signed emanci- 
pating the blacks in all the colonies of France. Social- 
istic doctrines were triumphant everywhere in Europe, 
and their influence upon America was but increased by 
the leverage of distance. Immediate contact would have 
aroused to opposition the "American Party." In the 
United States there was a general democratic upheaval, 
"a willful self-assertion of a masterful people which gave 
to the national spirit its first self-reliant expression of 
resolution and of consentaneous power,"^ which exhibited 
its evils in the first National Conventions of 1831 and 

lEurope iu Africa in tiie Nineteenth Century, p. 35. 

2E. W. Latimer, France in the Nineteenth Century, p. 35. 

sWilson, Division and Reunion, p. 115. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 13 

1832, the creatures of pure voluntary effort. Even the 
women took up the cue, and spinsteps preached an invet- 
erate crusade against the opposition of the other sex. So 
great was the agitation that not even the President and 
his Cabinet could agree with each other, and the latter, 
as well as the Vice-President, resigned in 1831. Every- 
thing was changing, both society and politics, and the 
agitation did not cease until it w^as all centred on slavery. 
The tariff had, previous to this period and at its begin- 
ning, agitated the Union, and in 1832 came near wrecking 
it, when Congress empowered the President to use the 
Army and Navy in forcing the collection of tariffs in 
South Carolina, in accordance with the acts of 1828 and 
1832, which she had declared unconstitutional and "Null" 
and "Void.'- But the crisis was avoided by a reduction of 
the tariff, and henceforth the field was cleared for the 
discussion of the slavery question. 

The unrest in this political field found its cause and 
counterpart in that of the social and economic. There 
was a general revival of the study of economics. In all 
parts of the United States publishing houses were estab- 
lished, such as the Georgetown Press; and the works of 
Adam Smith, Malthus, RicaPdo, Carlyle, Ruskin, and of 
other students of social and economic conditions were 
issued. And now for the first time important publica- 
tions of native Americans began to appear. Consequently, 
much of their attention was devoted to the cause of inter- 
nal improvements, the sale of the public lands, and other 
economic questions, which dominated politics in our 
national history and probably did more to increase the 
power of the National Government than any other factors 
in our development. This result was largely brought 
about by the new States, which, possessed of the strongest 
democratic spirit, were eager for the undertaking of pub- 
lic improvements by the National Government, as, on 



14 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

account of their poverty and restricted revenue, they were 
unable to undertake them on an extended scale without 
incuiTing a public debt. Jefferson and others had 
advanced like views, but were successfully opposed until 
1823, when the first appropriation for harbor improve- 
ments was passed.^ Jackson checked the movement, but 
the work was continued by distributing to the States sur- 
plus revenue for this purpose. In this period then was 
begun a work both by the national and State govern- 
ments which resulted in great material advancement in 
the expansion of both agriculture and commerce. 

The method of State initiative in these matters was 
more in accord with the States' Rights principles to which 
^^irginia and the South remained firmly attached. Though, 
violently agitated by the slavery question, Virginia still 
made rapid industrial, social and literary progress, and 
was in the foremost rank of the States in internal develop- 
ment. She violently opposed the measures of the Presi- 
dent in the Nullification Controversy, and her distin- 
guished son, John Randolph, the representative of Vir- 
ginia sentiment, bitterly denounced the Administration. 
With her strong conservatism, she finally assumed the 
position of pacificator, and sent Benjamin Watkins Leigh, 
one of her most renowned citizens, as a commissioner to 
South Carolina. The Virginia Commonwealth stood for 
peace at home and abroad, and no internal dissensions 
disturbed her own society. Her agriculture was flour- 
ishing and internal improvements were advancing on 
every hand." 

iFederalist (Ford's Edition), p. 280. 

2At the head of the juov^ement for improremerits was a presi- 
dent and directors of public works. The report of the Public 
Engineer to this board in December, 1831. was a^^ follows: "For 
nine years, gentlemen, I have used my best exertions in promot- 
ing the cause of internal improvements in the State. While col- 
lecting a great mass of local information, I have often reflected' 
that Virginia did not avail herself immediately of advantages. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 15 

Several of these improvements are of especial interest 
to us. Applications were made to the Legislature in the 
early part of 1S32 for a charter for a railway from Ports- 
mouth, Virginia, to Weldon, North Carolina, and also 
for one for the Petersburg Railway. Both of these roads 
were built a few years later, and now run within a few 
miles of the scenes of the insurrection of 1831. They form, 
wth the Norfolk and Western, which was built in the lat- 
ter part of this period, a triangle having its vertices at 
Norfolk, Petersburg, and Weldon. Within this triangle 
lies that part of Southampton county which was deso- 
lated by Nat Turner and his followers. The Chowan, 
Blackwater, Nottaway, and Meherrin rivers, which pass 
near these scenes, were improved for purposes of inter- 
course and commerce, and, together with the Three 
Creek, surround the same portion of Southamp- 
ton, leaving one narrow passage at Belfield. The 
Legislature of 1831-32 also investigated the expe- 
diency of completing the Dismal Swamp Canal, whidh 
was considered of great economic advantage to Suffolk 
and the neighboring districts of Nansemond, Isle of 
Wight, Southampton and the other counties of the ''Black 
Belt." 

Nor had Virginia neglected her intellectual develop- 
ment. ''The mass of education in Virginia before the 
Revolution," wrote Mr. Jefferson, "placed her with the 

which, without a prophetic spirit, it may be said, will at some 
future day make the first State in the Union. To those less ac- 
quainted with her resources, and who have reflected less on her 
geographical situation and topographical features, this assertion 
may appear bold, but time will establish its correctness, when 
the oircumstances which have hitherto embarrassed her progress 
shall have been modified; internal improvement itself is one of 
the means best calculated to effect this purpose." These circum- 
stances were slavery and its necessary encumbrances, but the 
Legislature, which was in session at this time, took the sugges- 
tion of the Public Engineer and passed many bills for internal 
improvements and general economic progress. 



16 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

1 

foremost of her sister colonies."^ These words are appli- 
cable also to the period of which we write. She had as 
complete a system of education as the majority of the 
States. Her university stood at the head of the arch and 
furnished a most liberal education to representative sons 
of every State in the Union. Her academies and private 
schools were excellent, and no educators in secondary 
schools were better known than Major Stone, of Bruns- 
wick; Frederick Coleman, of Concord Academy; Lewis 
Coleman, of Hanover Academy, and Rev. Peter Nelson, of 
"Wingfield," Hanover county. This debt was due chiefly 
to the inspiration and example of her illustrious states- 
men, many of whom were still left to direct her energies. 
The convention called in 1829 to revise the State Constitu- 
tion was so remarkable in its personnel as to evoke the 
statement that it was composed of more distinguished 
men than had ever assembled in any other public body in 
the United States. Among its members were Madison, 
Monroe, Marshall, John Randolph, and others who had 
occupied important positions under the State and Federal 
Governments.^ Bishop Meade, the great Episcopal cler- 
gyman and historian, then in his prime, was one, and 
another was Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury, who, 
by his charts of the winds and currents, had won from 
all the crowned heads of Europe and the scientific men of 
the world the title of "Geographer or Pathfinder of the 
Seas." Still another, John Mercer Brooke, by his "Deep 
Sea Sounding Apparatus," which had been suggested by 
the investigations of Maury, had enabled scientists to 
ascertain the character of the beds of the great plateau 
under the ocean between Newfoundland and Ireland. To 
Maury we are also indebted for the great network of sub- 
marine telegraphs, and the commerce of the world owes 

■ I 

^Randolph, Writings of Jefferson, vol IV, p. 23. 

■-'Cooke, History of Virginia, p. 488. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTIOX. 17 

him an incalculable obligation. Tlie two most valuable 
general histories of Virginia appeared within the period 
under discussion — one by Robert E. Howison, in 1847, 
and the other by Charles Campbell, in 1849. The latter 
of these is especially valuable as a type of the best State 
histories. There were also many authors of i'lction, and 
>yhile Virginia literature of this period may not be of the 
first rank, yet it is valuable for its respect for good morals 
and manners and as an indication of her great impulse 
toward literary development. Nor should we forget the 
younger line of distinguished soldiers and statesmen, 
prominent among whom were John Y. Mason, the distin- 
guished Cabinet officer and Minister to France, and Henry 
A. Wise, the statesman, soldier and author. 

[Notwithstanding these wise and patriotic citizens, to 
whose wisdom and sound judgment, no doubt, Virginia 
is indebted for the comparative quiet and prosperity 
which she enjoyed between 1830 and 1865, it would have 
been a wonderful phenomenon, had no signs of rebellion 
manifested themselves among the slaves, who had many 
facilities to learn the general progress of the times, the 
riots occurring, and the general party discussion in regard 
to their state of senatude. They, too, favored by the 
greater leniency of their owners, had advanced in intelli- 
gence, morals and manners. This was true, in spite of the 
unequal working of federal legislation and administra- 
tion, which gave the majority of benefits to the non-slave 
holding, and most of the burdens to the slave-holding sec- 
tion. This was the point on which Southern discontent 
was aroused, and on which it rested until shifted to the 
dangers threatening slave property,^ so that Madison 
might well prophetically exclaim, "The visible suscepti- 
bility to the contagion of nullification in the Southern 
States, the sympathy arising from known causes, and the 

iBenton, Thirty Years in the United States Senate. 



18 ■ THE SOUTHAMPTON INSUBRECTION. 

inculcated impressions of a permanent incompatibility of 
interest between the North and the South, may put it in 
the power of popular leaders, aspiring to the highest sta- 
tions, to unite the South on some critical occasion in some 
course of action of whidh nullification may be the first 
step, secession the second, and a farewell separation, the 
last." It is indeed remarkable that there were only two 
attempts at insurrection during these thirty-live years — 
the one undertaken by a wild, fanatical negro at the 
beginning of the period, and the other led by a white 
fanatic, near its close. And this was the case, though 
every effort was made, at home and abroad, to cause 
discontent among Hhe slaves and to incite them to impos- 
sible and murderous undertakings.^ 

Never in the history of slavery, however, was there less 
danger to owners, more contentment among the slaves 
themselves, fewer runaways, and greater advantages, 
social, financial, and political, gained from this insti- 
tution. This was due partly to the fact that, 
though the country was filled with internal strife, 
the Union was gradually assuming the importance 
which had previously been held by the individual 
States. After the end of the war of 1812, which 

iThus, an Englishman, writing at the time, says that Eng- 
land's philanthropic zeal for the suppression of the slave trade 
covered their jealousy of the American commerce in Jamaica and 
in the Indian archipelago; that he regretted the hostile feeling 
growing up in England against America, all caused by the bitter 
harangues of American abolitionists, delegates from the Ameri- 
can Anti-Slavery party; that Englishmen believed all these things 
coming from Americans, and truly longed for war on the bound- 
ary question, in order to hurl upon the slave States thousands of 
colored troops from Jamaica, and desti'oy the whole Union by a 
servile war. 

William L. Garrison, tJie representiitive of the Anti-Slave 
Society, founded January 6, 1832. went to England in 1833, and 
was the means of the loss of all future influence of the American 
Colonization Society among the English Abolitionists.— Sehouler's 
History of the United States, vol. IV., p. 215. 




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THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 19 

terminated our vital interest in European politics, 
that in domestic political questions became intense, 
and with these questions the introduction of direct 
foreign influence disappeared, very quickly followed 
by a reaction, to the extreme of intense dread of foreign 
influence. The people had learned to bear with the har- 
angues of foreigners and to keep up with the course of 
foreign events, which had a marked influence on all 
classes of citizens, white and black, but direct foreign 
interference in governmental affairs was resented. The 
chief expression of this feeling was the ''American," or 
"Know Nothing" party, which began about 1835, and, 
with varying power, manifested itself until the outbreak 
of the war between the States.^ This, then, was a period 
of indirect foreign influence, When the pen was used 
instead of the sword, and foreigners worked through 
negro leaders and fanatics, instead of personal leadership. 
Consequently their personal influence could not be so 
strongly felt. Seeing that stealth was necessary, the 
slaves were no longer able to be deluded to such an extent 
by the hope of foreign aid, and grew to have more love 
for and faith in, the country which, apparently, they 
began to look upon as their native land. This was, how- 
ever, not in all things the most fortunate period in Vir- 
ginia history, for the reason that much of her best talent 
was directed against the attacks of the abolitionists, 
instead of being devoted to more profitable undertakings. 
The event which aroused that talent to the consideration 
of the slavery question more than any other, in that it 
involved grave danger to the slaves as well as to the 
State, was the Southampton insurrection of 1831. 

f 
iFord, Federalist, p. 138. 



CHAPTER II. 
THE INSURRECTION. 

DESCRIPTION OF SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY.— 

Southampton county lies in the southeastern corner of 
Virginia, in what is known, from its large negro popula- 
tion, as the "Black Belt," one hundred and fifty miles 
south of thy National Capital, ^Vashington. It was a part 
of "Warrasqueake," the Indian name for that region 
known as Smith's Hundred, one of the original shires into 
which Virginia was divided in 1634, extending from the 
James River on the northeast to North Carolina on the 
southwest. The name of this district was changed to Isle 
of Wight Plantation in 1637, and, as by 1748 the popula- 
tion had become too numerous and its area too extensive 
for one county, it was divided and that portion west of the 
Blackwater River was called Southampton.^ 

This county can be taken as representative of eastern 
Carolina and Virginia, its inhabitants being characterized 
by the chivalrous spirit of the "Old North State," as well 
as by the justly famed Virginia hospitality and family 
pride. The relation between the two States is well 
embodied in the words of Governor James Bar- 
bour, of Virginia, to Captain Calvin Jones, of Ra- 
leigh, North Carolina: "We turn with disgust and 
horror from the foul blot in the characters of 
men and dwell with peculiar complacency upon your gen- 
erous friendship, so ennobling to our nature, enhanced by 
the honorable mention you make of the aid furnished you 
by our fathers in the hour of your distress, and the ac- 

iln 17.56 Governox' Dinwiddle, in a list of tithables sent the 
Lords of Trade, rates the population of Southampton at 973 
whites and 1,036 blacljs, a population greater than that of the Isle 
of Wigtit in the same list. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 21 

knowledgment that the commingled blood of Virginia and 
North Carolina is the current of our connection." These 
words, written July 15, 1813, refer to the degrading deeds 
of the British troops in enticing away the slaves, inciting 
them to rebellion, and other acts of depredation, but they 
express the tie that has ever bound and will continue to 
bind together Virginia and North Carolina. The soil of 
,the county is rich and the climate delightful, the two, 
with other circumstances, combining to make a noble, in- 
dustrious, and liberty-loving population, well typifying 
the best Southern character. These people were alive to 
the progressive spirit of the age. Everywhere roads were 
being constructed and lands cleared. In the words of a 
most worthy citizen, who lived during this period: "Never 
were the people so progressive as between the year 1830 
and the Civil War." Mr. James W. Parker said he was 
making money as rapidly as he cared to until the insur- 
rection came along to interrupt him. For several years 
this delayed the progress of a portion of the county, and 
many citizens, becoming discouraged at the large destruc- 
tion of property and life, sought other homes, but interest 
soon revived, and there was more effective energy and 
development than ever.^ 

Special attention was given to education. Schools and 
academies existed in great numbers. The Milltield Acad- 
emy had been established in 1790 by a special act of the 
General Assembly, which empowered Benjamin Blunt 
and others to raise by lottery^ money for this purpose. 
At the home of Mr. Thomas Pretlow there was an 
academy and another at Mr. James Parker's, both of 

iThe settlement of Indians in the county left their name in 
the "Indian words" on Nottoway River. Their lands were pro- 
tected, and a special board of such citizens as James Trezevant, 
Benjamin Blunt, and William Urquhart, was appointed to look 
after their interests and education. 

2This was the favorite means of raising money for internal 
improvements. 



22 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

whicli were progressiye, and at wMcli were educated such 
public-spirited men as Capt, J. J. Darden and Gen. George 
H. Thomas. There were flourishing schools at Waller's 
and Mr. Nat Francis's. The Drewrysville Female Acad- 
emy educated true Virginia women. The influence of the 
latter still lives in some of the model mothers and wives 
of the county. In this county were born and lived some 
of the most noted characters connected with the history 
of America, such as John Y. Mason, the statesman; 
George H. Thomas,^ the soldier; William Mahone, the 
famous Virginia railroad president. Senator, and politi- 
cian. Such were the citizens of 1831 and the years pre- 
ceding 1865. The home of such progress, the mother of 
such men, and the scene of Nat Turner's massacre, 
Southampton is interesting as one of the historic counties 
of the United States. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLOT.— The month of 
August has been generally selected as the most suitable 
time of year for arousing the slaves to hostility; nor is this 
more remarkable than the fact that the quiet and stillness 
of some Saturday or Sunday night has been considered by 
the negroes most appropriate for the execution of schemes 
of murder and pillage. Only in a few instances has 
Christmas or some national holiday been selected for 
such purposes. This can be explained by the fact that 
Virginia was an agricultural State, there being compara- 
tively few large farms at this time, and consequently 
much confidence and mutual intercourse between master 
and slave. By August the cultivation of the crops of 
corn, cotton, and tobacco was completed. There were 
only a few minor duties to be performed, which would be 

1. In recognition of his gallantry in the Mexican War, General 
Thomas's natlive county presented him with a costly sword, which 
he prized above all gifts and deemed too precious to be worn ex- 
cept on the occasion of his marriage. This sword is now in the 
possession of General Thomas's sisters, Misses Judith and Fan- 
nie Thomas, of Newsom's Depot, Va. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 23 

allotted to the children, leaving the adults to hunt and 
iish and attend religious services. In fact, this month was 
the month of ''jubilee," when it was a sacrilege to labor; 
it was the month of worship and camp-meetings, where 
week after week was spent, each person taking his tent 
and provisions with him, laying aside all temporal cares. 
It is impossible to describe the ease, happiness, and sense 
of security felt by all. 

The servants had a freedom almost equal to their 
owners. Many of them were left at home to spend their 
holiday as they pleased, while those who delighted to 
attend the meetings of the whites had ample time to 
assemble and converse, and, after the services of the 
whites, to attend services conducted by ministers of their 
own color. But Saturday and Sunday were the principal 
leisure days. Saturday afternoon was a general holiday 
for all slaves who had been industrious and obedient 
during the week, when they could work their own crops 
and spend the time in fishing with their master's outfit or 
hunting with his gun.^ By many Sunday was spent in the 
same manner, but most of the slaves were very religious, 
and attended Sunday-school and church. No master could 
force a slave to work on the Sabbath. It was, a pleasure 
to the master and his children to devote this day to wor- 
ship with, and instruction of, the negroes. They generally 
worshiped together and had the same pastors. No church 
was built in the South without provisions for the negro 
servants.^ And at the present day many will remember 

iThe broken and missing guns, etc., were the means by wtiich 
many slaves were convicted in the massacre of 1831. 

2Col. Robert Carter, known as "King Carter" from his owner- 
ship of so many slaves, rebuilt the historic Christ's Church, Lism- 
caster county, in 1732, which was first built by his father John 
Carter in 1670, and he reserved a large portion of it for his slaves, 
besides a pew near the pulpit for his immediate family. Mead, 
Old Churches and Families, vol. II., pp. 116-118. 

"Gillie, in his "Historical Collections," vol. II., pp. 335-338, 
says of Rev. Samuel Davies: "From the year 1747, when Mr. 
Davies was settled in Virginia, to 1751, he baptized about forty 



24 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

the invitation to commune given to the former slaves 
after the communion of the whites. Four days for Christ- 
mas, a week when the crops were "laid by," Easter, the 

negroes, of whom he says he had as satisfying evidences of the 
sincere piety of several of them as he ever had from any person 
in his life. And in May, 1754, when he was at Edinburgh, con- 
cerning the affairs of New Jersey College, he said that when he 
left Virginia, in August, 1753, there was a hopeful appearance 
of a greater spread of religious concern among the negroes, and 
that a few weeks befox-e he left home he had baptized in one day 
fifteen negroes, after they had been catechised for some months." 

Mr. Fred Noble, in the "Redemption of Africa," says: "Negro 
Baptists to some extent are a monument of the religious activity 
of Southern white Baptists. In 1801 the Charleston Association 
petitioned the legislature of South Carolina to remove restrictions 
on the religious meetings of slaves.* * * Planters frequently paid 
liberally toward the support of home missionaries to the negroes. 
* * * Between 1845 and 1861 the white Southern Baptists 
did much for negro evangelization, but from 1865 till recently 
they showed only slight interest." The other churches were 
equally active in this line. 

The Richmond Times of October 26, 1899, says: "The Northern 
people will never completely understand the relationship that 
existed between the Southern white man and his slave. The 
slaves were members of the family and were always treated as 
such from the old "mammy" down to the youngest child. When 
they were sick they had the attention of a physician, if neces- 
sary, and always the attention and nursing of the mistress of the 
household, who was herself a good doctor. Everything necessary 
to the comfort and welfare of the sick slave was done and With 
the same spirit that these noble women administered to the sick 
members of their immediate family. The bare suggestion that 
this was done from sordid motives is a shameful libel upon the 
best women that God ever made, for if there ever was a model 
woman in this world she was the Southern matron, who was 
always worshipped as the family saint and who fairly lived up 
to the responsibilities of that exalted position. 

"Another thing in this connection. The women of the South, 
old and young, matrons and maids, whom the North had pictured 
as 'indolent, exclusive and indifferent to the sorrow and distress 
and ignorance of the slaves,' spent a goodly portion of their time 
in training the minds and morals of the black members of their 
household. On the large plantations there was a chapel, where 
services were held every Sunday, when and where the slaves 
were gathered to receive religious instruction. In the smaller 
family circles the slaves were assembled on the Sabbath in some 
convenient place and 'ole Mis' and young Mis' ' read the Bible to 
them and taught them the way of life." 

No doubt these facts partly account for the superiority of the 
American missionary of today in Africa. 



THE SOUTHAIMPTON INSURIIECTION. 2o 

Fourth of July, and other holidays through the year were 
allowed the slaves. In addition, they seem to have been 
allowed the free disposal of the entire night, which might 
be spent in sleep, attending dances, corn and cotton 
matches, or in hunting for the "'possum and the coou."^ 
On all of these occasions the negroes were trusted, and no 
one could be persuaded that his slaves would be guilty of 
a breach of this confidence. 

Suoh a Saturday and Sunday were the 20th and 21st of 
August, 1831. Many of the ringleaders of the plot that 
was forming had been especially industrious and obe- 
dient, and consequently had been permitted to have holi- 
day on Saturday. To escape all suspicion, the ringleader 
feigned sickness and refused to go to the dining room as 
usual for his meals. He was afraid that the kindness of 
his mistress would soften his heart and cause him to show 
his guilt. But with her own hands she prepared him a 
special supper and took it to him. Sunday was even 
more quiet, if possible, and unruffled by suspicion. Mr. 
Joseph Travis, the master of the two leaders of this band, 
with his family, attended services at church in the morn- 
ing, and, as was the custom of this neighborhood, went 
home with friends, not returning to his plantation until 
late Sunday evening. But the slaves had not been idle. 
They had been going from house to house collecting for a 
feast which was to be held that day. Hark, the second in 
command of the gang, had gone several miles away to 
procure cider and provisions. On Saturday three slaves — 
Henry Edwards, Hark Travis, and Nat Turner — had 
agreed to prepare a dinner for the men they expected the 
next day, and there to concert plans of action, as they had 
not previously agreed upon one. So, on the following 
day. Hark brought a pig and Henry brandy, and, being 

lit was a negro who had heen hunting that first discovered 
and reported the hiding place of Xat Turner. 



26 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

joined by other slaves — Sam, Nelson, Will, and Jack, 
they prepared the proposed feast on the banks of the 
Cabin Ford, near Travis's.^ There it was decided that 
they should begin that night at their master's and murder 
all the white people of the county, sparing neither age 
nor sex. It was a beautiful Sabbath and not the least 
suspicion had been aroused of their intention. Such 
was the quiet and peace of mind of the inhabitants 
on this beautiful Sabbath that many of them had 
gone to Gates county, North Carolina, to attend a camp- 
meeting, and those who remained at home deemed it 
useless to lock the doors of their houses, which were left 
open to receive the fresh breeze of this balmy August 
night. They felt safer for the reason that the slaves were 
there to keep guard. But a few were destined to betray 
this trust. 

The instigator of this plot was Nat Turner, a wild, 
fanatical Baptist preacher, born the property of Mr. Ben- 
jamin Turner, on October 2, 1800, just five days before 
the execution of Gabriel Prosser, who, in August of that 
year, incited the slaves of Richmond and vicinity to 
rebellion. The notoi;ioui3„John Brown had been born just 
live months before Nat. Thus 1800 was an important year 
in the history of slave insurrections in Virginia, the date 
of the birth of the leaders of the two last and most impor- 
tant insurrections in the South, and of the Gabriel Insur- 
rection of Henrico county and vicinity. It is an interest- 
ing coincidence that Gabriel was executed on the 7th of 
October, Nat Turner captured on the 31st, and John 
Brown on the ITth of the same month. 

After the death of his master, Nat became the property 
of Mr. Samuel Turner, brother of Ben Turner, whose wid- 
ow the insurgents later murdered. Mr. Thomas Moore 

iThis place now belou^s to Mr. Joshna Powell, of Bovkln's dis- 
trict. 



■~ 


^ --^.-*ife..^^a^ . *^^ 








^\ 


\^ 


m^amm 


P^i 
;,#j-^' 


IH^^^^^H^^^^£% \~m j ^ y ;- .11; , • v4 


, *•:, ■"& 


— . --^^l^^igiEip 


#R 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 27 

afterward bought him, and at his death left hiir(^to his son 
Putnam. Mrs. Moore had married Mr. Joseph Travis/ 
and this explains why Nat had been living with the latter 
since 1830, and why he was often called Nat Travis. He 
had always been fortunate in having a kind and indulgent 
owner. He acknowledged this, and seemed to love his 
mistress and her children. Though he had never been 
sold out of Boykins District, yet he was thoroughly 
acquainted with every by-path and corner in the county, 
and had gained many social and intellectual advantages. 
He had at the time of the massacre developed into a stout, 
black negro of the pure African type, but in childhood he 
had been delicate and consequently was more indulged 
than was usual. Exceedingly precocious in his youth, he 
developed into a man of considerable mental ability and 
wide information, especially in the sciences. He learned 
much in the Sunday-schools, where the text books for the 
small children were the ordinary speller and reader, and 
that for the older negroes the Bible. Nat said that he 
learned to read with so much ease that he did not know 
when he learned it, and when a book was given him one 
day to stop his crying he began spelling the names of the 
different objects. This story made a great impression, not 
only on his mind, but on the minds of the neighbors. But 
it is well known that Mr. J. C. Turner, his young master, 
gave him instruction, assisted by Nat's parents, who seem 
to have been intelligent negroes. His mother, Nancy, is 
said to have been imported directly from Africa, and to 
have been so wild that at Nat's birth she had to be tied 
to prevent her from murdering him. She later developed 
into a useful and faithful servant. His father was also 

lit is very probable that this man was related to the Travis 
family of Jamestown, and, if so, was from one of the distinguished 
families of Virginia. Champion Ttavis is an^ historical character 
in the history of Virginia of the Revolutionary Period. 



28 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

very high-spirited, and ran away when Nat was a boy, 
and was never recaptured. 

Nat himself had, up to the time of the insurrection, 
been faithful and highly trusted, and was rftade an over- 
seer. In fact, he was quite unrestricted, and, being a 
preacher, was allowed many privileges. There was only 
one person who mistrusted him, and that was Mr. Sala- 
thiel Francis, the brother of Mrs. Travis, who told her 
that Nat was a negro of bad character, and that it would 
be best for her not to trust him so much. But, thinking 
her brother somewhat uncompromising, wild and reckless 
in general, she continued lenient with Nat. Nat's son, 
Redic, survived him and proved to be a worthy and highly 
respected slave, much like his father in ability, but not 
fanatical. There are still many of his relatives living in 
Southampton, and one of them, though now in the lunatic 
asylum at Petersburg, Virginia, well illustrates the trend 
of his early ancestors. Intelligent and well informed on 
most subjects, this man. Hack Brown, is at times wild 
and raving, bearing a special grudge against the officers 
of the institution, as may be natural with lunatics, but he 
also seems to be a religious fanatic, and in response to any 
question will reply, "So saith the Lord."^ 

From childhood Nat was very religious, truthful, and 
honest, ''never owning a dollar, never uttering an oath, 
never drinking intoxicating liquors, and never committing 
a theft." He never had any cause to steal, as he alwaj-^s 
had plenty, but he often did the planning for negroes on 
plundering expeditions, as they trusted his superior gen- 
eralship and ability. 

Nat's own words, better than those of any other, will 
give an insight into the development of his character, 
illustrate his treatment as a slave, and show how his 
mind, attempting to grapple with things beyond its reach, 

iDr. William F. Drewry, Siiperintendent of Asylum. 




Xat Turner. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 29 

lirst became bewildered and confused, till he was finally 
deluded and led to the conception and perpetration of the 
foulest butchery. In a confession, when a prisoner in the 
county jail, he said: "In my childhood, a circumstance 
occurred which made an indelible impression upon my 
mind and laid the groundwork of that enthusiasm which 
has terminated so fatally to many, both white and black, 
and for which I am about to atone on the gallows. It is 
necessary to relate this circumstance, trifling as it may 
seem. It was the commencement of that belief which 
has grown with time, and even now, sir, in this dungeon, 
helpless and forsaken as I am, I cannot divest myself of it. 
Being at play with other children, when three or four 
years old, I was telling them something, which, my 
mother overhearing it, said happened before I was born. 
I stuck to my story, however, and related some things 
which went, in her opinion, to confirm it. Others being 
called in, were greatly astonished, knowing that these 
things had happened, and caused them to say in my hear- 
ing that I sure'ly would be a prophet, as the Lord had 
.shown me things that had happened before my birth. 
And my father and mother strengthened me in this, my 
first impression, saying in my presence that I was 
intended for some great purpose, which they had always 
thought from certain marks on my head and breast.^ My 
grandmother who was very religious and to whom I was 
much attached, mj master who belonged to the church, 
and other religious persons who visited at the house, and 
whom I often saw at prayers, noticing the singularity of 
my manners, I suppose, and my uncommon intelligence 
for a child, remarked I had too much sense to be raised, 
and if I was, I would never be of any service to anyone 
as a slave. To a mind like mine, restless, inquisitive and 

iThese marks were excrescences which are often seen on the 
person of negroes.— Thos. R. Gray. 



30 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

observant of everything that was passing, it is easy to 
suppose that religion would be the subject to which it 
would be directed; and, although this subject principally 
occupied my thoughts, there was nothing that I saw, or 
heard of it to which my attention was not directed." 

'Count Marboeuf predicted that Napoleon would create 
for himself a path of more than ordinary splendor.^ So 
others had impressed upon him the greatness in store for 
him, until he believed Providence had destined him for 
the master of the world. A person may hear or tell a story 
over and over again, until it is so vividlj^ impressed upon 
his mind that he finally believes that it happened, as was 
the case with the little boy who related that he was sitting 
on the doorsteps when his parents were married. Thus 
Nat believed that these things had actually been told him 
by the Lord, and his earnestness and intellectual supe- 
riority impressed all the negroes who saw him with the 
truth of his claims. Their astonishment did not escape his 
notice and made him believe all the more that he was to 
be a great man and the deliverer of his race. 

Thus surrounded by religious and educated persons, in 
whom he had the utmost confidence, and having parents 
and grandparents who had been instructed by their own- 
ers, this restless, inquisitive, and observant youth, daily 
Impressed with the consciousness of his superior intellect 
and religion, was incited to a life of seclusion from his 
fellow-servants, prajdng, experimenting in casting differ- 
ent things in molds made of earth, and trying to make 
paper, gunpowder and many other articles.^ His master 
was a coach-maker, and in his labors with this workman 
Nat had become quite expert in mending such articles as 
tin buckets, old bells, etc., and in making into various 

lAbbott, Histoiy of Napoleon, vol. I, p. 22.' 

2Upon examination, it "was found that he had much knowledge 
of these subjects and was well acquainted with the movements 
of the planets, etc. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 31 

useful forms the old iron and wood taken to bim by his 
fellow-servants. Taking them to the woods, he would 
skillfully transform them as desired, and returning them 
to their owners nicely polished in the shape of a sword or 
any desired article, he would impress these credulous 
beings with a sense of his superiority. 

Recognizing the fact that to be great he must appear so, 
he wrapped himself in mystery and allowed his mind to 
be occupied with religious notions. He faithfully attended 
religious meetings, and, being very ambitious, he was 
struck with the text, ''Seek ye the Kingdom of God; 
and all these things sh*all be added unto you." As 
he was one day praying at his plow the spirit repeated the 
text, which greatly astonished him. By the spirit, he 
said, he meant the spirit that spoke to the ijrophets of 
old. Praying continually for two years, whenever his 
duties would permit, he again had the same revelation, 
which fully convinced him that he was ordained for some 
great purpose in the hands of the Almighty. Several 
years having rolled around, in which many events 
occurred to strengthen him in this belief, his mind forci- 
bly reverted to the admiring remarks made of him in his 
childhood, and the supernatural things that he believed 
had been shown him. So, having arrived at manhood, 
seeing himself still a slave, and knowing the influence he 
had obtained over the minds of his fellow-servants, by his 
austerity and air of mysticism, he determined to prepare 
the negroes for an uprising by telling them that some- 
thing was about to happen v/hich would fulfill a great 
promise which had been made to him. But about this 
time he was put under an overseer whom he did not like, 
no doubt because he had been accustomed to more privi- 
leges, so he ran away. After 30 days, however, he returned, 
to the astonishment of some of the negroes, who mur- 
mured against him and said, if they had Nat's sense, they 
would not serve any master in the world. The reason he 



32 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSUKRECTION. 

returned was that he imagined the spirit appeared to him 
and told him that he had his wishes directed towards the 
things of this world and not to the Kingdom of Heaven, 
and that he should return to the service of his earthly 
master, "for," said the spirit, "he who knoweth his mas- 
ter's will and doeth it not shall be beaten with many 
stripes, and thus have I chastened you." He also saw a 
vision which revealed white spirits and black spirits con- 
tending in battle, the sun darkened, the thunders rolling 
in the heavens and blood flowing in streams, and a voice 
spoke unto him, saying: "Such is your luck, such are you 
called to see, and let it come rough or smooth, you must 
surely bear it." 

He now withdrew himself as much as possible from the 
intercourse of his fellow-servants in order to serve more 
freely the spirit, which had again appeared to him and re- 
minded him of the things which it had already shown 
him, and promised that it would then reveal to him the 
knowledge of the elements, the revolutions of the planets, 
the operation of the tides and the changes of the seasons. 
This was in 1825, and he began to believe that he had been 
made perfect in faith and holiness and that the Holy 
Spirit was saying to him: "Behold me in the heavens." 
He said he looked and saw the forms of men in different 
attitudes, and lights in the sky, which he called the hands 
of the Savior, stretched forth from east to west. Won- 
dering greatly at these miracles, he prayed to be informed 
of their meaning, and shortly afterwards, while laboring 
in the field, he discovered drops of blood on the corn, as 
though it were dew from heaven. He communicated this 
fact to many, both white and black. He found on the 
leaves in the forest hieroglyphic characters and numbers, 
with the forms of men in different attitudes, portrayed in 
blood and representing the figures he had seen in the 
lieavens. He took some of these to his mistress and told 
her that they were signs shown him by the Lord, but she 



THE SOUTHAJSIPTON INSURRECTION. 33 

only dismissed him with her usual kind and indulgent 
words. Nat, however, perceiyed in them the explanations 
of the signs which he had seen in the heavens, and 
believed, he said, that the Savior was about to lay off the 
yoke which he had borne for the sins of men, and that the 
great day of judgment was at hand. He told these things 
to a white man — Ethelred T. Brantley^ — on whom it had 
a wonderful effect, and who, in Nat's words, "ceased from 
his wickedness and was attacked immediately with a 
cutaneous eruption, and blood oozed from the pores of his 
skin, and after praying and fasting nine days he was 
healed." Believing themselves converted, and that the 
Savior commanded them to be baptized, he and Nat pro- 
ceeded to Persons' mill pond and in turn baptized each 
other in the sight of many who had been attracted hither 
by curiosity. 

Nat said: "On the 12th of May, 1828, I heard a loud 
voice in the heavens and the spirit instantly appeared to 
me and said the serpent was loosed and Christ had laid 
down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that 
I should take it on and fight against the serpent, for the 
time was fast coming when the first should be last and 
the last should be first." He now felt certain of his work, 
and only waited for the sign in heaven to tell him to 
begin, until which time he was to make his plan known to 
no one, but, on the appearance of the sign, he was to 
arise and slay his enemies with their own weapons. This 
sign he recognized in the eclipse of the sun, in February, 
1831, and, immediately conceiving the seal to be removed 
from his lips, he communicated the work to be done to his 
four confidants — Henry Porter, Hark Travis, Nelson 
Williams,- and Sam Francis. They planned to begin 

iThis man was a respectable overseer, but after his inter- 
course with Nat no one v/ould have anything to do with him, so, 
it is said, he left the State. 

2This Nelson was the brother of the wife of Jeff. Edwards, who 
distinguished himself in his efforts to save his master's family 
and other white people. 



34 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURBECTIOX. 

their work of death on the 4th of July, but Nat's mind was 
so impressed with the greatness of the plot and the 
various schemes for its accomplishment that he fell sick 
and the time passed. It was not to take place on the day 
of Independence, and it is possible that Nat only saw the 
danger of keeping this date after its selection. For 
special arrangements had been made for celebrating 
it, and men, having assembled at every public place, 
would have more readily suppressed this undertaking 
then than was possible a few days later. But the time 
was not spent in idleness. The negroes continued to form, 
and reject new plans, until Nat imagined that his sign 
had again appeared unto him. The sign now was the 
peculiar appearance of the sun on the morning of August 
13th. The sun's disk seemed, on rising, to have changed 
from its usual brilliant golden color to a pale, greenish 
tint, which soon gave place to cerulean blue, and this also 
to a silvery white, all owing to some change or derange- 
ment of the atmosphere of the sun. In the afternoon it 
appeared as an immense circular plane of polished silver, 
and to the naked eye there was exhibited upon its surface 
an appearance that was termed a "black spot.*' The sun 
shone with a dull, gloomy light, and the atmosphere was 
moist and hazy. These phenomena excited much aston- 
ishment and wonder among the people generally. ■ The 
superstitious believed that some awful calamity was 
about to happen, while the speculations of the more intel- 
ligent citizens appeared unsatisfactory.^ The conspira- 
tors took advantage of the excitement and fixed upon the 
night of Sunday, August 21, 1831, as the date upon which 
to put their plot into execution. 

The feast of the conspirators began in the morning on 
Sunday, but Nat, as was his custom, again exhibited 

iForest, Historical and Descriptive Sketches of Norfolk: How- 
ison, History of Virginia. In "Judith" Marion Harland describes 
the excitement that existed among the whites and colored. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 35- 

shrewdness in not joining them until about 3 o'clock in 
the afternoon, thus giving his men time for eating and 
drinking, while he retained his usual reserve and conse- 
quence, which he knew were the only means by which he 
could succeed. On going up, Nat saluted them, and see- 
ing Will,^ whom he had not informed of the scheme, in 
the company, with great caution and foresight he asked 
him how came he there. This fellow showed by his 
answer that he was a most cruel and determined convert 
to the cause, as, with his broadax, he amply afterwards 
proved to be. He replied that his life was worth no more 
than others', and his liberty as dear to him, and that he 
would obtain this or lose his life. This satisfied the 
"general," and as Jack- was a mere tool in the hands of 
Hark, they soon had their plans arranged. Now were tc 
begin those frightful scenes of the memorable year 1831,. 
in Boykin's District, near Cross Keys. 

THE RAID. — The section of the county embraced in 
the raid was the most recently settled, and the inhab- 
itants had not reached that stage of larger cultivated 
estates and imposing dwellings enjoyed by the farmers of 
the more eastern counties. The country was thinly set- 
tled, consequently the blacks, concealed by the large 
expanse of forest which surrounded them, could quietly 
enjoy their reveling undetected. In this lonely den they 
remained until ten o'clock in the night. Ample time hav- 
ing been given the hardy farmers and their families to 
become composed in sleep, these fanatics, in the solemn 
stillness of the night, proceeded to murder the best friends 

iHe belonged to Mr. Nathaniel Francis. 

2Jaek was indeed weak, as the records of the county show, and' 
Hark, who married his sister, being an influential negi'o, wouldn't 
let him go home when he pleaded sick. Colonel Worth, who saw 
Hark after his capture, said he was one of the most perfectly 
framed men he ever sav/ — a regular black Apollo. 



36 THE SOUTHAISIPTON INSURRECTION. 

they had on earth — Mr. Joseph Travis and his family.^ 
On reaching the yard, they met another negro — Austin — 
who made the eighth member of their band. All except 
Nat went to the cider press and drank their fill, thus 
beginning a course which would the sooner, and ulti- 
mately did, lead to their ruin. They seemed to hesitate 
"before making a start, but the die was cast, and, proceed- 
ing to the house, they consulted as to the best manner 
of entering. Hark, Nat's lieutenant, proposed to break 
•open the door with his axe. He knew that the excited 
victims would be no match for them. Nat's cool and wise 
judgment, however, prevailed. Hark placed against the 
chimney a ladder upon which Nat ascended to the upper- 
most window. Quietly he descended the stairs, removed 
the guns from their places, and then opened the doors to 
liis comrades. 

Nat said he could not kill his kind master and mistress, 
and the task was made doubly hard when the little baby, 
which he had often fondled, looked him in the face and 
sweetly smiled, as he reached down to take it in his arms. 
This was more than even he could stand, and he put it 
back in the cradle, to remain in safety until the negroes 
had got some distance from the house. Then, remem- 
bering his resolve to spare neither age nor sex, and reflect- 
ing, as he said, that "nits make lice," Nat sent Henry and 
Will back to take it by its heels and dash its brains out 
against the bricks of the fireplace. But the followers 
decided that the leader was to strike the first blow. One 
hatchet and a broad-ax seem to have been their only 
weapons. This was a small beginning for a massacre 
which was not quelled until the perpetrators numbered 

iThe Cabin Pond was on Mr. Giles Reese's farm and nearer 
to his home than to Travis's. Mr. Reese asked Nat on the gallows 
why he slighted him, and Nat replied: "Marse Giles, you were 
too powerful a man to begin with, and besides we were afraid 
of your two fierce bulldogs. But Ave were going to return to you 
after we had collected a sufficient force." 



THE SOUTHA]\IPTON INSURRECTION. 37 

at least sixty, all mounted and armed with every con- 
ceivable weapon. 

Miss Maria Pope, who lived at Travis's, and for whom 
Nat had a special dislike, had been chosen as the first vic- 
tim, but she was away on a visit and thus escaped. So 
Nat and Will entered their master's chamber. The dark- 
ness and, no doubt, a remorseful conscience were the 
means of saving Nat from the guilt of the murder of his 
own friends and protectors. Nat's hatchet glanced and 
Mr. Travis sprang from his bed, calling for his wife. These 
were his last words. Will struck him dead with his axe. 
Mrs. Travis was at least fortunate in one respect — she was 
spared the horror of witnessing the terrible death of her 
husband. One blow was sufficient to dispatch her. Put- 
nam Moore, Nat's young master, and Joel Westbrook,^ 
who was apprenticed to Mr. Travis, lads of sixteen, were 
sleeping in an upper chamber. Both were murdered in 
their sleep. These people had been murdered quietly in 
order to avoid any possible alarm. Quite a different course 
was pursued after the number of the band was increased. 
They took here four guns and several muskets, a pound or 
two of powder and shot, besides several horses and other 
instruments suitable for their bloody work. To impose a 
sort of discipline upon them, Nat formed his band in 
line as soldiers, took them through all the manoeuvres 
with which he was acquainted, and paraded them up and 
down for some time in the barn-yard. In the meantime 
they had decorated themselves in the most ludicrous and 
fantastic style, with feathers in their hats and long red 
sashes around their waists and over their shoulders.- 

iHe now rests in the family bui'ying-ground, owned by bis 
brother, Mr. James D, Westbrook, of Drewrysville, Virginia. 

2The sashes were made of the blood-red material with which 
the tops of the old-fashioned gigs were lined, and when this gave 
ont, they used sheets dyed in the blood of their victims. The 
"old-'fashioned" gig somewhat resembled the modern "dog-cart." 
It had two wheels, and, being very tall, was overturned at the 
least provocation. 



38 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

A quarter of a mile to the southeast dwelt Mr. Salathiel 
Francis, a brother of Mrs. Travis. This gentleman was a 
bachelor, living in a small, single-room house, with no one 
but a faithful slave — Nelson. He was a powerful man, 
brave, determined, and unmindful of death. No one 
knew this better than these eight negroes, and they were 
certain that he would make quick work of them if they 
broke his door open. After proceeding, then, silently and 
in good order to this place, they concluded to secure him 
in an artful manner. Sam and Will were slaves of Mr. 
Nat Francis. They called to Mr. Salathiel Francis and 
told him that they had a note from his brother. Unarmed 
and unsuspicious, he went to the door in his night clothes. 
When he opened it they seized him and by repeated blows 
over the head murdered him while bravely defending him- 
self and calling to Nelson for his gun. But Nelson had to 
see to his own life. He was known to be loyal. They shot 
him, but he managed to escape through the back door,^ 
and was instrumental in saving the life of the wife of his 
master's brother. 

Continuing to bear to the southeast for half a mile, the 
negroes reached the home of a Mrs. Harris. She was a 
widow with several children and grandchildren. The 
insurgents passed through the yard of this farmhouse, 
but no one was killed, nor was any depredation com- 
mitted. Unfortunately no one asked Nat why this was, 
but the slaves said that one of their number — Joe Harris 
— refused to join the band unless they promised to spare 

iTo see tbis house of one story and a "jump" might dispel a 
prevalent idea in the Northern section of the country that the 
life of the Virginian has been one of selfish luxury and ease. 
Many owning a smaller number of slaves, while constricted in 
provision for tlieir own families, yet maintained, in every humane 
provision, the well being of their servitors and dependents, and 
in doing this constantly disregarded their own comfort. This is 
true of the treatment of old family negroes at the present day. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 39 

his "white people." Whether this is true or whether it 
was offered as a means of rescuing Joe from the gallows 
,(^annot be ascertained. However, circumstances are in 
favor of the version. Being appreciative, though ignorant, 
-this frightened negro did not see the necessity of killing 
all the whites, especially a family of women and children, 
and, besides, when threatened with the loss of his life, he 
probably deemed it best to accept the proposition in order 
to see if their professions of ultimate success would prove 
true. In either case, he may have intended the welfare of 
his people. He possibly intended to escape, but after see- 
ing the success at the next plantation, decided it was use- 
less to do so. The leaders, as they had not made one addi- 
tion to their number, very likely were glad, under any con- 
dition, even at the expense of their maxim "to kill all,'' to 
make recruits.^ He was hanged, however, as after the 
suppression of the band he had returned home dressed in 
the clothes of Mr. Peebles, who had been killed at the 
Turner farm. So quietly and cautioush' had the insur- 
gents formed their plan that the next morning the family 
Vi'ere unconscious of their narrow escape, and proceeded 
to their daily tasks. The children went to school, several 
miles away, and it was an hour or more before they were 
warned of the state of affairs. They had met a negro, 
George Porter, who advised them to go home, as the Brit- 
ish were killing all the people in the country. But, being 
small, and giving but little credence to this report, they 
proceeded to school, within a few miles of which the 
insurgents were at that time. This negro George was 
believed by the grown people, however, who had by this 
time heard the same report from other sources. The cruel- 

iMrs. .James Barnes (nee Miss Bettie Powell), granddaughter 
of Mrs. Harris, and then a child of eight years of age, living at 
this place. 



40 THE S0UTHA3IPT0N INSURRECTION. 

ties of the British at Hampton in 1812 were still remem- 
bered and also lent credence to the report.^ 

The Newsom place, a short distance from Mrs. Harris', 
was left to the right, and, continuing their southeastern 
course for a mile, the negroes came to Mrs. P. Reese's." 
The door of the house was unlocked. Mrs. Reese and her 
son William were asleep within. The former was killed 
without being aroused from her slumbers. The latter, 
who was in another room, called to know who was there,, 
but he was not long kept in doubt. Mr. James Barmer 
was manager of this farm and was in the house. He 
awoke and tried to escape, but was discovered and ren- 
dered helpless by repeated Mows from axes and grubbing 
hoes. At first he called for help, but soon decided that it 
was better to feign death. Wounded and bleeding and 
kicked about, he bore it patiently and sur-vived. Several 
days later he was found in this exhausted condition, his 
wounds exposed and festered. It left him maimed for life 
and ever afterwards unable to do manual labor. 

The next place visited by Nat and his associates was 
the house of Mr, Wiley Francis,^ who lived three miles to 
the south of the Reese farm. Mr. Francis, notwithstand- 
ing the pleading of his wife and daughters, refused to flee. 
They were hid in the woods and provisioned by faithful 
slaves, who had declared that they would die for the 
whites, and took their stations in the yard to await the 
arrival of the insurgents. These soon put in their appear- 
ance and were greeted by Mr. Francis with "Here I am, 
boys; I will not go from my home to be killed!'' His 

iSo accurate was Goorge's description of the route taken by 
the insurgents and of the victims l^illed that people believed af- 
terwards t^iat he had joined the gang, but his heart failing him 
he had returned, as did several others. He was not harmed,, 
however, but lived an obedient servant, dying several yeai's after 
the War of Secession. 

2This farm is now owned by Mr. William Powell. 

3Mr. Hemy Smith now owns this farm. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSUKRECTION. 41 

slaves then warned Nat's band that they could not come 
farther than the fence without losing their lives. They 
pleaded that they were thirsty and asked for water and 
also brandy, but the faithful negroes saw through this 
pretense. Perceiving that it was useless to resist further, 
Nat remarked that the old man was not worth killing, but 
that he would be taken later and his slaves forced to yield. 
These threats neither affected the slaves, who were wise 
enough to see the folly of such a reckless attempt, nor the 
master, who sat peacefully in his door and declared he 
would suffer death before he would run. So the attempt 
was abandoned.^ 

Several miles to the northeast of Mr. Francis' and one 
mile east of the home of Mrs. Reese was the residence of 
a widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Turner, It was now sunrise on 
Monday morning. A rush was made for the distillery, 
which was located on the side of the lane which led to the 
house. Mr. Hartwell Peebles, the overseer, was there. 
He was immediately shot down by Austin and his clothes 
appropriated by one of the band. There were some, how- 
ever, who were not onlj bent on plunder, but who wished 
to gratify their bloody passions. They advanced to the 
dwelling. With repeated blows from the axe which had 
hitherto wrought such execution in the hands of Will, the 
door,^ which had been locked at their approach, was 
broken open, and Will, seizing Mrs. Turner, dispatched 
her, while Nat, taking Mrs. Newsom by the hand, struck 

iNat did not mention this visit in his confession, but it seems 
very probable. It is based on the evidence of those who heard 
Mrs. Lavinia Francis relate it. Nat maj^ have left this out, as 
he did other facts, which showed the spirit of the majority of 
the slaves, the cowardice of his men and the discouragement 
he met with on all sides. Besides his followers were still few 
in number and thus offered less inducement to join than advau'- 
tage in resisting them, to slaves accustomed to the orders of their 
kind master. 

2The gashes are still to be seen on the door and the blood on 
the floor of his house, which is owned by Mr. Elias Vick. 



42 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

her several blows over the head. His sword was too dull, 
so this murder was committed also hj the murderer of 
Mrs. Turner. Trembling, frightened nearly to death, and 
pleading for their lives, these defenseless women were 
pitilessly slaughtered. The next business in order was 
the destruction of property and a search for money and 
ammunition. 

'Although several plantations had now been visited, on 
all of which there were a number of slaves, the company 
consisted of only fifteen men, six on foot and nine 
mounted. They now decided to divide, as they did also 
on several occasions afterwards, roaming' the country in 
squads, but always uniting at some fixed point. Those on 
foot proceeded through a by-path to the home of Mr. 
Henry Bryant, several hundred yards to the northeast. 
After Mr. Brj^ant, his wife and child, and his wife's 
mother had been killed, and the programme of plunder 
and destruction repeated, the blacks turned towards Mrs. 
Catherine Whitehead's,^ whither their companionsi had 
gone. This place was one mile east of Mrs. Turner's, but 
the}^ found the work had been completed there and the 
gang ready to march when they arrived. 

Mrs. Whitehead was a wealthy lady, known through- 
out Eastern Virginia and North Carolina for her hospi- 
tality.^ Mr. Richard Whitehead," one of the sons, a Meth- 
odist preacher, was in the cotton patch with his slaves 
when the negroes rode up the lane to the house. He asked 
one of his servants what all that meant, but his slave 
seemed not to know. Mr. Whitehead, though addressed 
as "Dick" by the gang and ordered to conje to them, with- 
out hesitation obeyed and was attacked and cut to pieces 

iTMs place belongs to Mr. John Sykes. The Bryant place is 
owned by Mr. Vick. 

2The Whiteheads of Virginia are members of this family. Many 
•ot them are famous preachere and lawyers. 

3He had just returned from feeding his hogs. 



^m 



^^fc 



I 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 43 

by Will's fatal axe.^ This occurred near an old cedar 
tree, which still stands to mark the spot. Even when 
attacked, he was ignorant of the meaning of it all, and 
the more he asked why they were killing him, the louder 
the band yelled, "Kill him! Kill him!" They were deter- 
mined that none should escape. Nat pursued a servant 
girl who fled at their approach, but, perceiving her to be 
colored, he returned to the scene of the murder. His com- 
panions had not been idle. Three daughters, and a child, 
who was receiving its morning bath at the hands of a lov- 
ing grandmother, had been murdered. Will was dragging 
the mother of the family from the house as Nat ap- 
proached. She told him that she did not wish to live 
since all of her children had been murdered, so, in Nat's 
presence, Will severed her head from her body. But there 
were two daughters still alive. Miss Margaret concealed 
herself in the space formed by the projection of the cellar 
cap from the house between two brick chimneys, but she 
fled and was pursued by Nat and killed with a fence rail, 
repeated blows with his sword being insufficient for the 
purpose. This is the only murder that Nat directly com- 
mitted. 

Hubbard was a servant of this family. He and 
a majority of the slaves of his mistress remained 
faithful and were valuable witnesses at the trials 
of Nat's gang. When they approached, Hubbard 
hid his young mistress. Miss Harriet, between 
the bed and the mat. After the murderers left he went 
for her and said: "Miss Harriet, thank God, you are 
saved. Don't stay here; come along with me to the 

iThe day before he had preached at Barnes' Church, which is 
about thirty miles to the southeast, near the Carolina line; and 
at this protracted meeting the concluding hymn was, 
'"How happy every child of grace 
Who feels his sins forgiven." 

A worthy prelude to so untimely a death. 



44 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

woods." She obeyed and remained there while this loyal 
man returned to the house and procured food and bedding. 
But she began to fear that he had returned for the insur- 
gents, so she changed her hiding place. True to his faith, 
the old man returned and she heard him in his grief 
moan out, "Oh, Lord, they have caught her!" Still fright- 
ened, the poor girl refused to show herself, and allowed 
the disconsolate protector to return to the house. The 
next day some soldiers on the trail of the blacks arrived, 
and, having heard Hubbard's story, told him to go again 
to search for his mistress. Terribl}' bitten by the mosqui- 
toes, she had suffered enough to heed any succor. She dis- 
closed herself, but was afraid to go to the house, so she 
wrote on a shingle signs which convinced the whites that 
she was alive. She was rescued and taken to Cross 
Keys.^ In a single grave in one corner of the garden, not 
one hundred yards from the door of this historic home, 
rest the bodies of her seven relatives, a monument to base 
cruelty and barbarity, as that of Miss Harriet, near by, is 
one to witness the devotion of a faithful slave and to show 
that slavery in Virginia was not such as to arouse rebell- 
ion, but was an institution which nourished the strongest 
affection and piety in slave and owner, as well as moral 
qualities worthy of any age of civilization. 

One party now traveled about a mile to the west to 
Mr, Trajan Doyle's, and thence a few hundred yards to- 
wards Mr, Howell Harris' ; the second party took a north- 
ward course to Mr. Kichard Porter's and Mr, Nathaniel 
Francis', who lived, respectively, about one and two miles 
away. Mr. Doyle was found on his way to the mill, 

iBut what was this lone individual to do? All of her people 
had been murdered, and the old homestead was haunted by the 
cries and prayers of lier dear ones. She adapted herself bravely 
to circumstances, however, and spent the remainder of her days 
in this home, surrounded by the slaves who had proved loyal 
and true, notwithstanding the persuasions and threats of mem- 
bers of their own race. 







saar>aat..^».^^Ki«aBHiH^^yMHr.<! 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 45 

accompanied by his servant, Hugh. The former was ruth- 
lessly murdered, but the latter, instead of joining the 
insurgents, made his way home to save his mistress and 
her baby. Rushing into the house, he seized and dragged 
them to the thicket of an old graveyard, not taking time 
to tell his story until they were safely concealed. In this 
way he robbed the negroes of two of their intended vic- 
tims. 

This band was joined by other negroes, who informed 
them that Mr. Harris^ had made his escape, having 
been warned of the insurrection by a mulatto girl, Mary. 
Consequently they were retracing their course, when they 
met Nat, who learned at Mr. Porter's that the alarm had 
spread. The blacks had been spreading destruction far 
and wide for eight or nine hours and not the least alarm 
had been given until now. The second squad had been 
at Mr. Porter's, but the mulatto girl had given them the 
alarm also and they had made their escape to the woods. 
They then advanced to the home of Mr. Nathaniel Francis. 
Hark or Will must have been in command of this division. 
When they arrived Mr. Francis was away. That morning 
a little negro boy, simple and stammering, had rushed 
over from Mr. Francis' sister's, Mrs. Travis, and related 
that some "folks had killed all the white folks" at his 
master's. Mr, Francis smiled and said: ''You don't 
knov/ what you are talking about." But whether this 
indifference was to evade all appearance of alarm or from 
incredulity, he was impressed sufficiently to ride over to 
investigate. His mother also went through a by-path to 
see if she could be of any assistance. It was in this 
manner that these lives were saved. The negroes had 
indeed been there and had gone away by a southeastern 
direction as Mr. Francis appeared from the northeast. He 

iMr. Howell Harris married the daughter of Mr. Wiley FraHr- 
cis. His farm and the Doyle farm (sometimes called the J. 0. 
Tm'iier place) belong to Mr. Hines. 



46 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

was returning home, when he met some men, who told 
him his own people had been killed and that he must 
join them to form a guard. So, deeming it useless to 
return, he took his mother to a farmhouse on Pate's Hill^ 
in the rear of the operations of the gang. She remained 
there until later in the day, while he set out to join the 
guard. 

It appears that these men, having gone to the home of 
Mr. Francis, had found no one alive. But one person had 
been saved. In those days a young farmer always built 
his house so that It might be enlarged as his means 
increased. The usual style of house for a farmer of small 
means consisted of one square room on the first floor, 
with what was called a "jump" above and a kitchen in 
the rear. This was the style of the Francis house. The 
"jump" was fashioned into a neat and serviceable room by 
lathing and plastering it in such a manner as to form a 
semi-cylindrical apartment with a window in each gable 
end. Thus there were considerable spaces between the 
roof and the plastering, which were called cuddies, and 
used for "plunder" rooms and were accessible by doors 
near the end. These recesses were very dark. It was in 
one of these that Mrs. Lavinia Francis, the wife of this en- 
ergetic farmer, was concealed by old "Red"^ Nelson, who 
had been forced to flee from the murderers of his master. 

iHe was called "Red" Nelson to distinguish him from another 
negro of the same name, who was black. "Red" Nelson was a 
mulatto. He had been sold to a slave dealer and was to be sent 
South, but at his own solicitation he had been bought and kept in 
Virginia. He amply repaid this service, and no one recognized this 
more than his neigtibors. After this he was the real master of 
the plantation, receiving and entertaining the gentlemen who 
visited his master. A gentleman who knew him well relates that 
he has seen him drink with the whites, and that he went 
wherever he pleased, from one section of the county to another, 
hospitality received at every home, where his deeds were fully 
esteemed and commended. He lived at Mr. Nat Francis' until 
after the CivU War, and then he went to Ohio. 



y^. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. -iT 

When the blacks asked for her, Nelson pretended to sym- 
pathize with them and joined heartily in the search. He 
went to the cuddy and shoved aside baskets, clothes, etc., 
but took special pains not to betray his mistress. She was 
also favored by the dark clothes in which she was dressed. 
Then, turning away, Nelson said she must be in the gar- 
den concealed behind the tall cabbage. As the negroes 
came out of the house the}' met Mrs. John K. Williams 
and her little child in the lane. This lady was the wife of 
Mr. ''Choctaw" Williams/ and as he was teaching school 
she had decided to spend the day with Mrs. Francis. 
With her infant she was murdered before she reached the 
house. Mrs. Williams being taken for Mrs. Francis, no 
further search was made for the latter. 

Two little boys named Brown, nephews of Mr. Francis, 
lived with him. He was their guardian, since both of 
their parents were dead. The younger of them, about 
three years of age, was standing in the lane as the negroes 
rode up, and ran to meet them, begging that he might 
ride, as he had probably often done of the plowmen as 
they returned from their work. He was taken up, to be 
cast down with his head severed from his body. At this 
sight his eight-year-old brother, who was hid near by in 
the weeds of the barn-yard, screamed out. He was caught, 
and suffered the fate of his brother. The negroes were 
then on their way to the "still," which was generally the 
rendezvous. Mr, Henry Doyle, the overseer and "stiller," 
saw them coming and ran to the house to tell Mrs. Francis 
of the danger. He was shot down as he emerged from 
the front door just under the cuddy in which this lady 
was hid. She had heard the screams of her nephews and 
had now to listen to the groans of Mr. Doyle. She could 
stand it no longer, and fainted. It is well she did, other- 

iHe was so called because he wore his hair in waves dowu his 
back and resembled an Indian in some respects. 



4:8 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

wise she might have revealed her place of concealment, as 
her nephew had done. When she revived the negroes had 
drunk their fill of cider-wine, and many of them, much 
intoxicated, had proceeded on their journey, having been 
joined by nearly all of the family slaves. Much frightened, 
Mrs. Francis emerged from her cuddy and descended the 
stairs. She had heard some of her servants quarreling, 
and as she reached the door she saw them dividing her 
wedding dresses. They were very much surprised to see 
her, and one of them said: ''I thought you were dead," 
and, making for her with a dirk, continued, "If you are 
not dead you shall soon be." But the other negro, Easter, 
who had belonged to her before her marriage to Mr. 
Francis, rushed up and said : ''You shall not kill my mis- 
tress, who has been so kind to me. Touch her if you dare 
and I will kill you." Mrs. Francis then asked where the 
negroes were, and the wicked Charlotte replied that they 
had gone, but would be back to dinner, as they had killed 
several chickens for the purpose. Without further delay, 
except to hang up her keys and to take from the rack a 
home-made cheese, she went in search of her husband 
with Nelson, the slave who had saved her. Cautiously 
advancing through the woods, she reached the Travis 
place. Climbing upon the gate-post, she saw two men at 
the house, and fainted from fright and exhaustion. These, 
Mr, Womac and Mr. Sam. Ellis, also saw her, and after 
they had revived her by pouring water in her face, Mr. 
Ellis^ took her on his horse and carried her to Pate's Hill, 
where she found her husband's mother, but had little 
opportunity to rest from her trials and excitement. 

People there were too much alarmed to allow anyone to 
rest. The least unusual occurrence was suflScient to pro- 
duce the wildest confusion. A flock of sheep running 

iThese men lived near Pate's Hill, the former a school teacher 
for Mr. Joseph Claud at the Claud place, and the latter a planter 
on a portion of the farm now owned by Mr. AVilliam Leigh. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 49 

■down the road was taken for the insurgents, and in a 
moment women and children, many of whom had col- 
lected at Pate's Hill, were flying to the swamps. Here 
they remained for two nights, sleeping upon the leaves of 
the forest and making use of the provisions hastily gath- 
^'red as they rushed from their homes. This crowd proved 
more than Mrs. Francis could stand, so she decided to 
leave, declaring that she would rather die at the hands of 
the negroes than rethain in such society. As she ap- 
proached the country road she heard the sounds of horses' 
hoofs. Looking through the bushes, she recognized her 
liusband as the third man of the company. Hearing her 
call, he went to her and took her, behind him, to Cross 
Keys and thence to her mother's home, near Seaboard, 
North Carolina, where she remained for some weeks nurs- 
ing her sick mother.^ 

One mile from Mr. Francis', farther to the north, lay the 
home of Mr. Peter Edwards. This same division of the 
negroes now made their appearance here, to find that 
*'old Jeff"^ had assisted Mr. Edwards and his family to 
escape to the woods, where they were cared for by the 
slaves until all alarm was dispelled. Five of the slaves 
of this farm joined the insurgents. The rest were assem- 
bled after the departure of the raiders and the absentees 

iShe had heard the cries of her loved ones; had ridden twenty- 
miles on horseback, besides having walked several; had spent 
several daj^s and nights in the swamps, and was now nursing 
the sick. This was the experience of a woman who within a 
month brought forth her first born. How she survived it all 
was ever a wonder to her and still remains an example of what 
could be done by our ancestors. She lived, however, to tell the 
story of the crusade against the white inhabitants of her county 
and died only a few years since, leaving many children and 
grandchildren. 

2His sou, Hardie Musgrave, lives at Newsom's,^ Virginia, a hale 
and hearty old man of eighty summers, industrious and respected 
by all. He remembers Nat well, and says that the foregoing 
picture is the exact image of him. His master, Mr. Benjamin 
Edwards, did not live far from the Travis place. 



50 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

were noted by Jeff and reported to his master. After the 
defeat of the gang these five returned home and were 
shot down in turn by the neighbors. Jeff, who had always 
been overseer, was now trusted more than ever for liis 
faithfulness. 

Previous to this time the insurgents seemed to be going 
from home to home without any aim as to final purpose 
and destination. But now, having drunk freely of apple 
brandy, mixed with gunpowder, and being extremely 
intoxicated, they took the main road to Jerusalem, the 
county seat. Capt. John T. Barrow lived three-quarters 
of a mile away. Mr. Nat Francis had sent him word that 
the British were coming, but not wishing to show any 
signs of concern in the presence of the negro messenger,. 
Captain Barrow dismissed him very amicably. Mr. Drewry 
Bittle, a neighbor, had also brought the news that there- 
was an insurrection of some kind. Captain Barrow had 
thus decided to flee to the home of his mother, who had 
married Capt. Newitt Harris, and he was waiting for his; 
wife when the leaders of the band came in sight. Being 
very beautiful, and accustomed to dress very tastefully, 
she did not wish to appear beyond her home in her dail}^ 
costume, and was making her usual preparations. Mr. 
Bittle was keeping watch for the negroes, but he did not 
have time to give the signal. Two or three negroes, seeing 
him, put spurs to their horses, and came near capturing 
him. However, casting aside his shoes, he safely reached 
the swamp, and they, unable to proceed farther, called to 
him, "Never mind, we will get you yet!" With some 
humor he replied, ''Not today." Captain Barrow's lot was 
not to be so fortunate. The delay was fatal, and he per- 
ceived that it was useless to flee. The negroes were now 
within thirty .yards of the dwelling. Taking his stand 
upon the porch, his pistol, rifle, and shotgun by his side, 
Barrow told his wife to fly for her life, while he fought 
for his home and his loved ones. It is said that she still 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INStlRRECTION. 51 

lingered and hindered his aim. But finally she fled, while 
he held them at bay, first with his gun, pistol and rifle, 
and, when these had been fired, with the butt end of his 
gun, which he broke to pieces over their heads as they 
forced him from the porch into the hall and thence into a 
side room. He scorned to surrender and was not over- 
come until a window was raised and one of the band on 
the outside, reaching in, cut his throat with a razor. Never 
did man fight more desperately, and no hero should be 
more honored than John Barrow. The insurgents recog- 
nized his bravery and drank his blood to make tl^em 
brave and determined. This was the only corpse respected. 
Wrapping it in a bed-quilt, they placed it in the mid- 
dle of the floor of his bedchamber with a plug of tobacco 
upon his breast. When Nat was told the story of his 
courage and resistance he said he was sorry such a man 
had to be killed, and that the insurrection would not 
have proceeded far if he had met this man in 
the beginning. His resistance sufficed, however, to 
save Mrs. Barrow. As she fled a negro girl, named 
Lucy, seized her with the determination of holding 
her for the rebels, but "Aunt" Easter came to the aid 
of her mistress and fled with her to the woods, where they 
found Captain Harris.^ Mr. George Vaughan, brother of 
Mrs. Barrow, was on his way to his sister's for a fox hunt. 
Fortunately for the gang, he did not reach his brother- 
in-law's house, or the result might have been more unfa- 

iMrs. Barrow was one of the principal witnesses against the 
insurgents. She had seen them ride up to her home, and she 
knew most of them, as they belonged to her neighbors. To one 
who had yelled at her as she fled, "Never mind, we will catch 
you yet," she remarked in court: "I know every one of you 
scamps, as you belong to my neighbors." With a scornful grin, 
however, the fellow replied, "No, it wasn't me." Her maiden 
name was Mary Vaughan, daughter of Mrs. Rebecca Vaughan, 
who was killed by the insurgents. She afterwards married a, 
Mr. Rose, and later a Mr. Moyler. 



■52 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

vorable for them. As they journeyed toward the next 
farm he was met and ruthlessly slain. 

The farm of Captain Harris lay about a mile to the 
northwest. This gentleman had been a soldier in the War 
of 1812 and was now old and feeble. His large and pros- 
perous farm was entrusted mostly to the care of the negro 
overseers, Aaron and Ben, who were also "stillers," and 
manufactured the apple brandy which caused much insub- 
'Ordination among the blacks. On Sunday Ben went to 
Dr. Jones' to visit his wife, and Monday morning while 
returning home he heard the report that the British were 
in the county killing the people. Most of Captain Harris' 
children were married, and his wife was in Sussex county 
visiting her daughter, having left the charge of the house- 
hold affairs to "Aunt" Edie, Aaron's wife. Captain Har- 
ris would not believe Ben's story and refused to fly. This 
was very natural for a man of his intelligence. But Ben 
knew there was some danger afloat, and, with a heart full 
of love for his master, replied: "You shall go," and, 
taking the invalid upon his shoulders, bore him to the 
swamps behind the house.^ Making him as comfortable 
as possible, Ben and Edie returned to look after the duties 
of the farm, and reached the house just as the negroes 
came in sight. 

Two roads, one from the southeast and one from the 
southwest, meet at the lane gate and form the Barrow 
road.- Mrs. Robert Musgrave, the daughter of Capt. Har- 
ris, had been advised by a slave to flee to her father's, as 
the negroes had risen. George Musgrave, her husband's 

iTMs place is owned by Mr. Samuel Drewiy. A road now 
passes through the swamp. 

2This road took its name from Captain J. T. Barrow, who con- 
structed the greater part of it. It enters the Jerusalem and 
Cross Keys road at the Blaclihead Sign-post, which is so named 
because the head of one of the insurgents who had been shot 
was cut off and stuck on it. It was ever afterwards painted 
:black as a warning against any future outrage. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 53- 

brother, had also returned from school with the report 
about the British. Mrs. Musgrave's husband being away 
she took her twelve-months-old bab}^ and this lad of ten 
upon her gig and went to her father's. She arrived from 
the southwest as the insurgents came from the southeast. 
Seeing her and the insurgents about the same time, Ben 
ran and told her to make through the house and close the 
door, so that the negroes could not see the direction she 
took. According to his orders, she had climbed over the 
garden fence and was proceeding dovv^n a corn row in 
search of her father, when she fainted, and but for the as- 
sistance of "Aunt" Edie, who came up with restoratives, 
she would have been caught. They could not find Captain 
Harris for some time and also were in danger of being 
betrayed by the cries of the baby, which was tired and 
thirsty. Mrs. Musgrave was afraid to be left alone, and, 
besides, feared betrayal. All the slaves had been trusted, 
and many of the ringleaders equally as much as this wor- 
thy woman. A want of confidence was natural. "Aunt" 
Edie realized this and did not blame her young mistress, 
but she saw the necessity of prompt action. Though not 
in theory, yet in practice, she was the mistress of the 
household. Stuffing a handkerchief in the child's mouth 
to prevent its crying, she set out in search of water, which 
was scarce in the woods in the month of August. But 
she was successful and soon returned with the water.^ 
She had also found her master, whom they joined imme- 
diately. 

The insurgents, however, had seen Mrs. Musgrave and 
asked Ben who it was. He told them, but said she was in 
the house in search of her parents, who had gone from 
home. Searching in vain, the negroes threatened to shoot 
Ben, but he insisted that she was in a cuddy. Thinking 

iShe is Sfllid to have found it in a cow's traclv and gave it to' 
the child from a cup made of oak leaves. 



.54 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

this his last hope, and determined not to betray his people, 
he turned and ran. He saved his life, but was sprinkled 
with bird-shot. Ben and Aaron saved their people, and in 
addition supported the other slaves in their loyalty. Not 
one joined the insurgents, but, armed with pitch-forks and 
hoes, they prepared to defend their master if an attempt 
was made to find him. This was not the only test of Ben's 
loyalty. Soldiers came the next day in search of the 
negroes, and, thinking from his stammering that he 
wished to conceal them, they also threatened to shoot him. 
He again ran, to suffer the same fate as before. The insur- 
gents having been routed at Dr. Blunt's on Tuesday morn- 
ing, appeared the second time at Captain Harris'. They 
did not go to the house, as some soldiers were there. 
Aaron saw the negroes and told them that the "devil" was 
at the house and enough white people to eat them up. He 
then slipped to the house to report the facts, and a charge 
was made, which, as we shall see, completely ended the 
insurrection. He had been in the War of 1812 as Captain 
Harris' body servant, and when the negroes first appeared 
at his master's he tried to dissuade them from the plot, 
telling them that it was impossible, and that they had 
better return home, which fact they would realize if they 
had seen as many white people as he had seen in Norfolk. 
They would not heed his advice, but threatened to kill 
him. He replied that he was not afraid of them, and by 
his bold stand successfully defied their threats.^ 

lAfter this Ben and Aaron were complete despots in their own 
sphere. Everyone recognized their services and respected them. 
At his death Captain Harris left Aaron to the care of his son 
and Ben to Mrs. Musgrave— as it was she whom he had saved— 
with provisions that they were to do as they pleased and have 
all possiible comforts. These instructions were faithfully obeyed. 
No one was too good to care for them. Three times a day the 
white children took Ben his meals, and when they did not suit 
him he would demand something else in the most authoritative 
tone. Of course, the children did not like this— they were too 
small to understand. But their mother knew too well what was 




v\ III iji iiHfcWiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii irT'"i ~ ~ T'" 





Mrs. Laviaia Francis. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 55 

Finding no victims, the insurgents began a search for 
money and other valuables, breaking open furniture, clos- 
ets, and cellars for this purpose. The main object of their 
search — brandy — was found in abundance. Eolling the 
barrels into the yard and knocking out one end of each, 
they began their frolic. Nat had told this division he 
would bring up the other at Mr. Francis', but following 
the trail from there he found the work had been so speed- 
ily and thoroughly done that he was unable to overtake 
them until now. The negroes seemed to number about 
forty, some of whom were drinking, some loading their 
guns, and the greater part mounted and ready to start, 
when Nat and his division rode up. He was greeted with 
shouts and hurrahs, which only incited him to prompt 
action. It being between nine and ten o'clock, he gave the 
command to mount and march immediately. He placed 
the best armed and most trusted confederates in front, 
with orders to approach the houses as fast as they could 
ride for the purpose of carrying terror and devastation 
wherever they went, and also to prevent the escape of 
their victims and the spread of alarm. For this reason 
Nat never reached the scene of slaughter after leaving 
Mrs. Whitehead's, except in one case, until the murders 
had been committed, but he "got in sight in time to see 
the work of death completed, viewed in silent satisfaction 
the mangled bodies as they lay, and immediately started 
in quest of other victims." 

In this manner the home of Mr. Levi Waller was vis- 
due Ben, and wlien they complained of his bearing toward them 
she would always forbid any discourtesy and reply, "Remember 
where your mother would be if it had not been for him. He suf- 
fered his back to be shot for us." This was a fit recognition of 
the service of one of the truest of friends, and at the same time 
a lesson in morality, obedience, and respect, which these children 
remember to the present day. It cannot be said, then, that 
slaves were never honored nor received the recognition due 
them. 



56 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

ited. It was about three miles from Captain Harris', and 
the center and general meeting place of the neighborhood. 
The boarding school there, of which Mr. AVilliam Crocker 
was principal, was well 'attended. The distillery, the 
blacksmith shop, and the wheelwright shop were other 
attractions for the neighbors. Many of the insurgents 
wished to turn to the left at Pond's shop and make for 
Major Humphrey Drewry's, who was noted for his excel- 
lent apple brandy. If their wishes had been obeyed the 
result might have been different. But Nat was making 
for Jerusalem, where he expected many reinforcements, 
arms, and ammunition. Thus they bore to the northeast 
just as Mrs. John Drewry, with her baby and nurse, came 
in sight. She was on her way to her brother's, Mr. Nat 
Francis, but the harness having broken, she stopped for 
her nurse to fix it, and the negroes passed on by the other 
road. Returning home, she spent several days in the 
woods, cared for by faithful slaves.^ 

It was nine or ten o'clock on Monday morning before 
any report of the insurrection reached Mr. Waller's, and 
the negroes were then within a few miles. It was here that 
the true nature of the plot was first discovered, it having 
been previously reported that the British were the perpe- 
trators. Mr. Waller was at his ''still" and the children 
at school, a quarter of a mile away, when some of the 
slaves reported to him that the negroes had risen and 
were on their way to his home. He sent to the school to 
report the news, and when the teacher appeared with the 
children Mr. Waller sent him to the house to load the 
guns. But before he could do so the insurgents arrived. 
Though several men and boys were here, they Avere forced 
to flee, being unarmed. Mr. Waller fled into the corner of 
the fence and was saved by his blacksmith, Davy, who 

i"Aimt .Jinnie" was the nurse, and "Uncle Sip," the negro who- 
cared for Mrs. Drewry. 



THE SOUTHAIMPTON INSURIIECTION. 57 

ran in the opposite direction, yelling, '^Here goes the old 
fox," thus drawing the blacks after him. Davy then 
returned and helped his master to escape to the plum 
orchard. Crocker^ ran into the cornfield, pursued by a 
negro, and, stopping after he had gotten out of sight of 
the others, he dropped his unsheathed sword and pre- 
pared to shoot. But at that moment a little girl ran 
across the lane and the negro turned to pursue her. This 
little girl was Clarinda Jones, a girl of tw'elve years. She 
had tried to persuade her sister, Lucinda, to flee with her 
to the weeds, but when the latter decided to climb the 
kitchen chimney, Olarinda hid on the outside in a corner 
between the house and the chimney. Lucinda was dis- 
covered and killed. She clung so firmly to the sway- 
pole- that the flesh was torn from her fingers as she was 
dragged down. Alarmed by the fate of her elder sister, 
Clarinda ran just in time to attract the attention of the 
negro who was pursuing her teacher. As she mounted 
the fence the negro shot her. She fell, and though slightly 
wounded, she had the presence of mind to remain per- 
fectly quiet, so that the darky did not discover her, though 
he rode so close that his horse ate of the weeds w^hich 
concealed her. After his departure she crawled out and 
hid under an old shop and counted the blacks as they 
marched away to the next point of attack. She went to 
the sw^amp and was discovered there the next morning by 
men hunting for the insurgents. In response to their 
inquiries in regard to the manner of her escape, she said : 
"The Lord helped me." Taking her upon his horse, one 

iCrocker's daughter, Mrs. Richard Stephenson, of Seaboard, 
North Carolina, owns the gold watch of her father, which he 
dropped as he was fleeing from the negroes, but which he stopped 
to pick up in order to leave no clue as to the direction which he 
took. 

2This is a pole stretching across the chimney from which the 
cooking utensils were hung by means of the pot-hooks. 



58 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSUBRECTION. 

of these neighbors took her to her father, Mr. Burrel 
Jones.^ 

From the plum ordhard Mr. Waller saw the movements 
of the negroes and heard the screams of his family and 
friends as they were murdered. Between ten and fifteen 
persons suffered death at this place. Many escaped, 
however, by concealing themselves in the weeds. 
Among them were Mr. Waller, two of his sons, 
and Mr. William Crocker, who finally made their 
way to Cross Keys. From there Mr. Waller pro- 
ceeded to Murfreesboro, North Carolina, and commu- 
nicated the news to the "Old North State," which imme- 
diately prepared for assistance. John H. Wheeler, the 
historian, says: "Well does the author remember the 
arrival of Levi Waller in Murfreesboro to tell the story 
of his family." Mrs. Waller had advised the men to flee, 
as she thought the negroes would not kill the women and 
children. How mistaken, poor woman! One of her own 
slaves slashed her with a razor as she defended herself. 
Martha Waller was concealed by the nurse under her 
large apron, but the child could not endure the reckless 
destruction of furniture, so arose and threatened to tell 
her father. One of the negroes seized her and dashed her 

iMr. Jones moved to Mississippi, but afterwards lived in 
Nortliampton county, Nortli Carolina, not far from his old home. 
He had sufficient reason to make him dislike Southampton, and 
it cannot be atti-ibuted to a want of feeling if he had a prejudice 
against the negroes. After the dispersion of the insurgents he 
was guarding a captive, and was advised by a friend to kill the 
negro. He refused to do this, but cut the prisoner's heel-strings 
and left. His wife also, a few months later passing from one 
farm to another about sunset, was accosted by a runaway negro, 
who, in response to her inquiry as to who he was, replied: 
"Chief cook and bottle AA^asher, secret keeper and bottle stopper!" 
The woods were surrounded and the fellow taken and punished. 
Clarinda married a Mr. Wall, of Northampton, North Carolina, 
where a large number of children now survive her, one of them 
bearing the name of Lucinda. Mrs. Wall died only a few years 
ago, carrying to the grave two buck-shot which she had received 
in the calf of her leg. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURIIEOTION. 59 

to death against the ground. Only two of Waller's slaves 
— Albert and ''Yellow" Davy — took part in these depre- 
dations. 

The band of insurgents had their number greatly 
swelled by forced recruits as well as by volunteers, so 
much so that when Nat gave the usual order, "Mount and 
march immediately," he had to compel several, who were 
trying to escape, to join him. All were further intoxi- 
cated at Mr. Waller's, and as they staggered along the 
road in the direction of the county seat, some fell from 
their horses and were left behind. Mr. Thomas Gray 
liyed on this road. He had several sons and daughters, 
but they were not disturbed, which can be explained only 
by the fact that the insurgents had become insubordi- 
nate and careless from the effect of large amounts of 
intoxicants they had taken, Mr. William Williams, who 
lived three miles from Waller's shop, had been recently 
married and lived in a neat and comfortable little cottage 
near the road. He and two boys, Miles and Henry John- 
son, were in the fodder-field, Mrs. Williams being at the 
house alone. The negroes appeared, asked her where her 
husband was, and gave her the choice of dying there or 
inth him. She preferred the latter, but as they went in 
search of him she fled and was some distance from them, 
when she was pursued, overtaken, and made to get up 
behind one of their number and forced to view the man- 
gled and lifeless bodies of her loved ones. Then, pillow- 
ing her head upon the bloody sod at her husband's side, 
she was shot to death. ' 

Mr. Williams' uncle, Mr. Jacob Williams, was away 
from home early Monday morning, and when he returned, 
about eleven o'clock, he found Nelson, one of his slaves, 
and one of the principal instigators of the rebellion, 
dressed in his best clothes. Being in a hurry to go to the 
woods to measure timber for Mr. Drewry Simmons, Mr. 
Williams did not stop to investigate the overbearing man- 



60 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

ner of Nelson. A few days previous to this Nelson re- 
marked to Mr. Caswell Worrell, Mr. Williams' overseer, 
that the white people might look out and take care of 
themselves, as something was going to happen before long 
which anyone of his practice could tell. He was a negro 
of bad character, and professed to have prophetic power, 
but such remarks had been so common with him, and the 
slaves in general were so contented, that no attention was 
paid to him and not the least suspicion of the insurrection 
was aroused until the blacks arrived, about twelve o'clock 
on Monday, the 22d of August. Nelson had been waiting 
for them. He went to the field where Mr. Worrell was 
superintending the field hands and got permission to go 
to the house, saying he was sick. He also persuaded the 
overseer to accompany him, thinking to deliver him into 
the hands of the insurgents, but Mr. Worrell escaped 
to the woods. Nelson was not very sick, however, 
when he saw his confederates aproaching. He was 
the leader in this section and seems to have worked 
faithfully for the cause. Going into the kitchen, he 
helped himself to the dinner then preparing, remarking to 
the cook: "Cynthia, you don't know me. I don't know 
when 3^ou will see me again," and then, stepping into the 
yard, walked over the mangled bodies of his mistress and 
her three children, who had been slain without the least 
manifestation of grief or pity. The other slaves of Mr. 
Williams were actuated by the spirit which filled the ma- 
jority of the slaves of the county. Though Nelson was 
allowed the greatest freedom, liberty, and intercourse 
with them, and was a pretended leader or prophet, yet he 
was unable to persuade one of his master's servants ro 
revolt. This is one of the most striking features of the 
insurrection. Even when all the whites of a family had 
been killed, the slaves remained faithful and gladly testi- 
fied at the trials of the culprits. Any account of South- 
ampton would be defective which failed to compliment 




r.;r.i CMiwiu.u' (.11 llie Crave of Capt. John '1'. IJ.p.rcw. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 61 

the good sense, fidelity, and affection of the slaves on this 
occasion. It was only the deluded and fanatical who 
took part. 

When the insurgents arrived at Mr. Williams' the first 
murder perpetrated was that of Mr. Edwin D re wry. He 
was overseer for Mr. James Bell, and had come, with Ste- 
phen, a slave of the latter, for a load of corn. They were 
trying to decide which should go for a measure, when, 
looking out of the crib, Mr. Drewry exclaimed, ''Lord, 
who is that coming?" He ran, but was pursued, shot, and 
disemboweled. Stephen was made to mount his horse and 
join the company, but at his trial he was acquitted, for 
at Parker's field he escaped and rode into Jerusalem, hal- 
looing at the top of his voice who he was and why he was 
riding so rapidly. This was to avoid alarming the people. 
Mr. Worrell lived a few hundred yards from the "great 
house," as the darkies call the residence of the landlord. 
After visiting tfhis and killing his wife and two children, 
the insurgents came back for dinner to the home of Mr. 
Williams, who had just returned from the woods. He 
barely had time to view the bodies of his murdered family, 
when he was forced to flee to the corn-field, from which he 
could view the actions of the negroes and hear Nelson 
say, "Now, we will have the old fox." 

Mrs. Rebecca Vaughan, a highly respected and hospita- 
ble widow, lived, with her two sons, a quarter of a mile 
northwest of Mr. Jacob Williams'. George had gone to 
his brother-in-law's for his sister and was expected to 
return with the fox hunters, who were to be entertained 
bj his mother. The negroes were taken for these hunters 
and no attempt to escape was made. Mr. Arthur Vaughan, 
another son, and the overseer were murdered between the 
house and the "still." Proceeding to the house, the negroes 
found two defenseless women — Mrs. Vaughan^ and Miss 

iHer husband was Mr. Thomas Vaughan, This farm is now 
owned by the Myricks. i 



62 THE SOUTHAIVIPTON INSURRECTION. 

Anne Eliza, daughter of Mr. John T. Vaughan, who wagf 
visiting her aunt and was at this time upstairs. Hearing 
much talking below, she came down to see the meaniag 
of it. She was murdered and her body thrown into the 
yard, to decay in the hot August sun. Thus perished a 
lovely young girl of eighteen, the beauty of the county. 
Her aunt asked to be allowed to pray. But she prayed 
too long, and after repeated oaths and threats, the negroes 
ascended the stairs and murdered her upon her knees, hec 
blood staining the floor, upon which its traces may still 
be seen. 

After feasting and partaking again of the famous and 
enticing Southampton fluid, the march was resumed. The 
negroes now numbered about sixty, armed with guns, 
axes, swords, clubs, and every conceivable form of 
weapon, and Nat determined to lead them directly to 
Jerusalem. He succeeded in persuading them to pass the 
homes of several poor white people, but the intoxication 
and licentiousness into which they had fallen proved too 
powerful for him. Passing the ''Blackhead" sign-post, 
they turned to the left. The courthouse was only four 
miles away, but they were destined not to reach it. After 
advancing upon this road for three-quarters of a mile, 
they came to the lane gate which led to the dwelling^ of 
Mr. James W. Parker. Nat wished to pass on, but his 
men desired to go up and enlist some of the servants, who 
had relatives among the insurgents. The subordinates 
prevailed. With seven or eight men, the leader remained 
at the gate, while their comrades proceeded to the house, 
which was half a mile away. Mr. Parker's servants were 
faithful, however, and remembered the thoughtfulness of 
their mistress,^ who, in the midst of danger and excite- 
ment, took time to prepare rations for them, as she was 

iThis place now belongs to Mr. Willie Story, of Newsom's, Va, 
2Her maiden name was Martha Vaughan. She was a sister 
of Mrs. Barrow and daughter of Mrs. Rebecca Vaughan. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 63 

uncertain when she would return. Only three- of them 
were brought to the bar of justice; one was acquitted and 
the other two were discharged without trial on the testi- 
mony of their master, that if they were guilty it was due 
to evil influences, and that they had hitherto been faithful 
and true. Nor did the band find any victims. Mr. Harry 
Vaughan, Mrs. Parker's uncle, had heard of their 
approach and warned his relatives to fly to the county 
seat. They barely escaped. Mrs. Parker returned for the 
little baby, which in the excitement had been left in the 
cradle, and she would certainly have been overtaken had 
not the negroes made a halt instead of obeying their 
leader. 

The Parkers' cellar was well stored with Southampton 
'brandy and all the necessaries of a typical Southern 
home, for Mr. Parker^ was an industrious and prosperous 
farmer, and had accumulated much wealth previous to 
this unexpected occurrence. Barrels of brandy were rolled 
into the yard, poured into tubs, and sweetened with the 
best quality of loaf sugar. The blacks drank of this until 
the sugar was crusted upon their lips, and then lay down 
under the shade of the trees to slumber before returning 
to their leader. In the meantime Nat had become impa- 
tient and set out in search for them. He found them, 
some slumbering and others relating their bloody deeds. 
They were immediately ordered to march, as they had 
previously plundered the furniture in their search for 
money and other valuables.- 

Retracing their steps, they were suddenly met by a 
body of white men. Captain Arthur Middleton was com- 

iMr. Parker moved to Tennessee after the insurrection. He, 
however, returnecl later and bought of Mr. James Trezevant the 
farm which Mr. Henry Ferguson now owns. 

2lt is difficult to explain wliy they tooli all the silver and left 
the gold, except by the fact that only the most ignorant and 
deluded slaves were connected with the plot, and they had never 
seen enough of the latter metal to know its value. 



64 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

inander of the county militia and bad collected about 
twenty men to resist tbe onslaught of tbe negroes. Tbey 
reached Waller's soon after tbe blacks bad left. Seeing 
tbe bodies of the victims, not yet cold in death, and one 
of them, a little girl,^ still having life in it, Middleton told 
his men that he was going to return and look after his 
own family. Eighteen of them refused to return, and, 
under command of Captains Alexander P. Peete and 
James Bryant, followed the trail of the negroes, now 
more than fifty strong, until they were overtaken in Par- 
ker's Field.- 

This band of eighteen whites, opening fire on those at 
the gate and dispersing them, advanced up the lane to 
meet tbe main body of the blacks, who knew nothing of 
what had happened and were expecting nothing of the 
kind. The negroes had traversed a distance of thirty 
miles without the least resistance, except that of a single 
]nan, and bad committed nearly sixty murders. Yet it 
seems remarkable that they were not determined and 
that a band actuated by such purposes should have 
I'esisted so feebly the first opposition. It might be thought 
that mere desperation would have led to greater effort for 
defense. But upon discovering the whites, their brave 
spirits, due to want of forethought of the consequences, 
iiAve way and alarm seized them. Consequently, Nat 

iRer body was removed from the sun and placed under a tree, 
but when Captain James Bryant returned it was lifeless. 

2Soon after leaving Waller's these men found Albert, one of 
Mr. Waller's slaves, who had fallen from his horse in a fit of 
intoxication and was now making his way baclv home. They 
felt certain that he had joined the rebels, but to give him the 
benefit of the doubt as well as to avoid being burdened with a 
prisoner Sampson Reese cut his heel-scrings. His master was 
binding up tliese wounds when the Greenesville Cavalry, under 
Dr. Scott, appeared. It very much incensed this gentleman to 
see a man binding up the wounds of one of the murderers of his 
own family when their bodies were still unburied. After a se- 
vere reprimand to the master, he ordered the negro to be tied to 
a tree and shot. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 65 

lliouglit it best to halt and take a defensive position. Cap- 
tain Peete^ ordered bis men to reserve their fire until 
within thirty feet of the blacks. This order was obeyed 
until they were within one hundred yards, when Hartie 
Joyner,- who was second from the front, accidentally fired 
his gun and his horse rushed headlong into the midst of 
the negroes. One of the negroes was riding the mother 
of this horse, and this fact partially explains his headlong 
dash. Such confusion was caused among the advancing 
column that seven of the whites retreated. Thinking his 
men would take courage at this and that the whites had 
only fallen back to meet others with ammunition, Nat 
gave the command, ''Fire, and, G — d — n them, rush!" 
The whites, however, were not disheartened, and ten of 
them stood their ground until the negroes were within 
fifty yards. They then fired and retreated. The blacks 
pursued them for two hundred yards, when, crossing a 
little hill, they discovered that the whites, reinforced by 
another party from Jerusalem, had halted and were 
reloading their guns. Two of the whites had been left 
upon the field, but they were only stunned. Captain Bry- 
ant had also narrowly escaped, his horse having become 
unmanageable. But several of the negroes being killed 
and the bravest wounded, the others became panic- 
stricken and scampered over the field. Seeing that his 
cause was defeated and that more men were coming up 
than he saw at first, Nat determined to go by a private 
road, crossing the Nottoway river at the Cypress bridge, 
three miles below Jerusalem, and to attack the place in 
the rear, as he knew he was expected to come over the 

ipor his bravei-y and cool bearing on tiiis occasion tie was 
■commissioned, and qualified September 22, 1831, as colonel of 
cavalry in the Fourth Regiment, Second Brigade. 

2He escaped to Jerusalem, but his horse was sprinkled with 
shot, and curiously every spot hit was afterward covered with 
j^rey hair. 



66 THE SOUTHA]MPTON INSURRECTION. 

Jerusalem bridge. This was his only hope, as his ammu- 
nition had almost given out. 

The reinforcing party proved to be from Jerusalem and 
knew nothing of the party which had gone with Captain 
Peete. They had been told by Mr. Parker and his family 
that the negroes were in the field, and had just fastened 
their horses to await the return of the negroes to the road. 
Hearing the firing, they immediately rushed to the spot 
and arrived just in time to arrest the progress of the 
negroes and save the lives of their friends and fellow- 
citizens.^ For the people of Jerusalem this was the most 
important battle on record. More than sixty victorious 
negroes were within three miles. At least four hundred 
women and children had assembled in the town and were 
guarded by only a few men, the rest having set out in 
pursuit of the enemy. If the blacks had succeeded in 
conquering the whites at Parker's Field they would have 
murdered these helpless creatures, gained arms, ammuni- 
tion and recruits, and would have marched to the Dismal 
Swamj), where it would have been very difficult to subdue 
them. As it was, not a white man was lost. This was due 
to several causes. In the first place, the negroes fired 
over the heads of their enemy. Secondly, they were armed 
with few rifles, fowling-pieces loaded with bird-shot being 
the general weapons. The negroes were also in want of 
ammunition and used gravel for shot, Nat insisting that 
the Lord had revealed that sand would answer the same 
purpose as lead.^ The militia, too, might have effected a 
complete destruction of the negroes if they had been prop- 
yl John Vaughan, transformed into a perfect dare-devil by the 
depredations made upon liis relatives, three times shot the horse 
from under Hark, who remounted every time, Nat himself catch- 
ing a horse that was running past and holding it for him. 

2No doubt this was a device to prevent panic among his men- 
He thought he would reach Jerusalem before any very serious 
need would arise for ammunition, the axe and club in the mean- 
time sufficing for weapons of execution. 




Mrs. Clarind.i W':^U (nee Jones) and Hnsbajid. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 67 

erly armed. But some time before the Legislature had 
modified the semi-annual drill and had called in the arms. 
Consequently the whites were also armed with shot-guns 
and insufficiently drilled. Nevertheless, the blacks had 
been sufficiently routed to render further depredations 
impossible. The majority fled to their homes and many 
escaped punishment by convincing their masters that they 
were not in the fight or that they had been forced to join 
the insurrectionists.^ 

Twenty, however, followed their leader toward Jerusa- 
lem, but after going a short distance on the private road 
they overtook several others, who told them that the rest 
were dispersed in every direction. They no doubt also 
learned that Cypress bridge was guarded. These facts 
did not discourage Nat. He had more of the spirit of des- 
peration, and, after making in vain every effort to collect 
sufficient force to proceed to Jerusalem, he determined to 
return, as he was sure the negroes had deserted toward 
their old homes, where they would join him. He intended 
to raise new recruits and begin the raid anew, and he 
sent some of his men ahead to notify those who had 
returned to meet him on the Wednesday or Thursday fol- 
lowing. Together with others, he proceeded to return by 
another route to Boykin's District, where most of the 
insurgents lived. Bending his course to the southwest, he 
visited the home of Mr. Sugars Bryant,^ who fled as the 
blacks came in sight. All the whites had escaped and no 
more victims were found. It was now late in the afternoon 
and there had been sufficient time for the news to spread. 
Many of the slaves who had been forced to join the band 

lOne of them, terribly wounded, one arm having been shot off, 
came to Mr. Nat Francis a few days later and asked what 
duties he wished him to perform. Mr. Francis calmly replied 
that he would show him in a short time. So, talcing him up be- 
hind his gig, he took him to the court house, had him tried and 
hung. 

2Mr. J. L. Bishop now owns this place. 



68: THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

lagged behind and finally deserted to inform the whites of 
the danger.^ 

Mrs. John Thomas lived two miles to the southwest of 
Mr. Bryant's. This is one of the most beautiful and his- 
toric places in Virginia, surrounded by lovely oaks and 
spacious lawns. Such now is the home and birthplace of 
Gen. George H. Thomas, at this time a mere boy of fifteen 
years. Mr. James Gurley, a neighbor, was on the lookout 
for the negroes. Keeping at a distance, he moved along 
before them to warn the neighbors of their approach. It 
was he who rode up and told Mrs. Thomas that the insur- 
gents had mistaken the main road and were approaching 
by one which led to the rear of the residence. Thus she 
drove out of the front gate just before the rebels appeared 
from the other direction. Fearing they might be over- 
taken if they continued in the road to Jerusalem, the 
Thomases abandoned the carriage and escaped on foot 
through the woods. The "stiller," seeing the insurgents 
coming, jumped over the well and hid in the bushes, where 
he could see and hear them as they assembled under his 
'Estill" shed. No plundering was done, and, as the family 
found the dwelling as they left it, it is probable that the 
insurgents simply insisted that the slaves should follow 
them. Forcing the family slaves to halter their horses and 
mount, Nat hastened on his way. Sam, the negro overseer, 
took his son Leonard with him, but whispered to him to 
s!lide quietly off the first chance he got and to tell his 
mother to get the keys, which he had hid in the cider-press 
loft, and look after the affairs of the farm in his absence. 
Sam also found a chance to escape, and, putting spurs to 

lAmong this number was a slave of Mrs. Gideon Bell. He re- 
lated tliat his courage failed him in his determination to escape, 
but the brandy and powder which they gave him to incite him 
to desperation only inspired courage, and watching his clianee 
he put spurs to the thorough-bred horse upon which he was rid- 
ing, and, leaving his pursuers far behind, he spread far and 
wide intelligence of the movements of the blacks. 



THE S0UTHA3»IPT0N INSURRECTION. 61> 

his horse, he rode to Jerusalem, followed by the other 
Thomas negroes, and reported to his mistress. For safe 
keeping they were lodged in jail that night, but were 
released the next morning without trial. 

Mr. James Gurley saw the insurgents following a cart 
filled with women and children and reported the fact to 
Major Pitt Thomas.^ Placing himself between the negroes 
and the cart, Major Thomas held them at bay until the 
lady, who proved to be Mrs. Barrett, and her children 
escaped to the home of her mother, Mrs. Lucy Gurley. 
This lady w^alked up and down her front porch, declaring, 
'Til be dad if I am afraid of any negro who may come to 
my house." Fortunately the negroes did not come and 
she was saved, but her servants were not as brave as their 
mistress and fled to the corn-field. 

Bearing around to tjhe southwest, the darkies came to 
the Spencer place.- They broke open the door, but the 
family had fled to Cross Keys. With the same result they 
visited Mr. Henry Blows' and other places. Then, turning 
to the northwest, the negroes crossed the Barrow road and 
took the Belfield road. Walnut Hill was the first home 
on this road. Mr. Harry Vaughan, a bachelor, lived here, 
and, on hearing of the rising of the negroes, he assembled 
his servants and told them that they were at liberty to do 
as they liked, either to remain or to go with the insur- 
gents. They chose the former course, and not one of them 
deserted, though their gate was passed as the band pro- 
ceeded to Buckhorn, Major Thomas Ridley's Quarter, 
where they stopped to spend the night. Sterling Lanier, 
the overseer, jumped into the cotton patch and escaped. 
Four of the Ridley negroes joined the insurgents, who had 
again recruited to the number of forty. Two of the four — 

iThe commission of Major of Infantry in the Sixty-fiftli Regi- 
ment was given liim, and lie qualified September 8, 1831. This^ 
was in recognition of his deeds on this occasion. 

2N0W owned by Mrs. Bettie Pope. 



70 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

Curtis and Stephen — were sent off to make new recruits 
in the neighborhood of Newsom's and Allen's Quarter,^ 
having been told by Nat that the whites were too much 
alarmed to make any resistance. But they soon discov- 
ered their delusion, were captured, and hanged. 

Posting sentinels, Nat lay down to sleep for the night. 
But he was soon aroused by the signal of one of the senti- 
nels, who reported that they were about to be attacked. 
He awoke and found a great stampede, some of his men 
mounted and others in great confusion. Some of the 
bravest were ordered to ride around and reconnoitre. On 
their return, the other men, not knowing who they were, 
became alarmed and fled, so that the number was again 
reduced to about twenty. It was now necessary to take 
active measures and to exert every effort to make a grand 
rally in the neighborhood from which they had started. 
So, marching at rapid speed, Nat led his men to the house 
of Dr. Simon Blunt,^ who lived a mile and a quarter away. 
This gentleman w^as a positive but indulgent master. On 
the morning of the 22d, when he heard that the negroes 
had risen, he assembled his slaves and stated the facts of 
the case. True to his trust, he told them to take their 
choice — remain and defend him and his family or join the 
insurgents. The advice and warning of the master had its 
effect. His slaves had the utmost confidence in his words, 
and replied that they would die in his defense. There were 
only six guns, one more than enough for the whites, two 
men and three boys. So, arming themselves with grubbiiig- 
hoes, pitch-forks, and other farm implements, the slaves 
stationed themselves in the kitchen at the side of the 
house, while the whites protected the dwelling. Such 
mutual confidence is remarkable, slaves defending a white 
family and whites preferring their protection to that of a 

iNow Sunbeam. 

2Mr. Sugars Pope now owns "Belmont." 



,'&^.S^ , "iT"' ,'#'''5.-."rfa*?i 




' THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 71 

body of their own race, who had fortified the home of 
Major Thomas Eidley, a few miles away, where the women 
and children of the neighborhood were assembled.^ Nat 
did not expect to find any of the White people at home, 
imd only intended to enlist the servants. The yard gate 
was locked and chained, and when one of the men tried 
to unlock it Nat remarked that he could not be stopped 
by a fence, and ordered the gate to be broken down. Hark- 
was the commander on this occasion. On riding through 
the yard, he fired a gun, to ascertain whether any of the 
family were at home, and immediately young Simon 
Blunt^ and Futrell, the overseer, opened fire.* Jt was just 

lAmong those who had fled here were the wife and children 
of Mr. Robert Nicholson, who lived at the "Yellow House," the 
farm adjoining Dr. Blunt's. He was away from home, and his 
wife was undecided what to do when she was told by one of her 
servants that the negi-oes had risen. She feared betrayal to the 
insurgents, but the faithful old darliy pleaded, and raising his 
hands with the utterance, "I declar' 'fore God dey is commin'," he 
persuaded her to follow him to Major Ridley's. Every moment 
the guard here assembled expected the arrival of the insurgents 
and resolved to die or conquer. So great was their indignation 
that it was all the ladies could do to save the nurse of Mrs, 
Nicholson from being thrown from the window when she re- 
marked that she wished that they would come along, as she 
wished to see them fight. This expectation was not to be real- 
ized, however. 

2Hark was the negro version of Hercules, and they also called 
him "General Moore," as he had originally belonged to Mr. 
Thomas Moore. Probably the name "Hark" was the more readily 
assumed from the fact that Hark Travis had heard of a famous 
negi'o general named "Hark," who served under Saood II., the 
leader of the Wahabees, the reforming Mohammedans of Arabia. 
This general, about 1810, carried his arms across the Euphrates 
and threatened Damascus. 

sGommodore Elliott, of the United States steamer Natchez, 
rendered efficient aid in suppressing this insurrection, and he 
was much impressed with the bravery of young Blunt. The 
Richmond Compiler of September 8, says: "Elliott is a fine fel- 
low. The good feeling he manifested by his prompt action in 
defense of Southampton has endeared him still more to me, as I 
am sure it will to every true-hearted Virginian." This was the 
man who related the story to President Jackson. The latter was 
so impressed with the account of the defense at Blunt's that he 



72 THE SOUTHAJNIPTOX INSURRECTION. 

before the break of day ou the morning of August 23, and 
all night had the arrival of the negroes been awaited. 
Futrell was on the porch and the others on the inside. 
They had established a systematic mode of defense. Those 
on the inside, assisted by the women, were, in addition ta 
firing, to load the guns and pass them out of the windoAV 
to him, and after the rebels had been put to confusion the 
slaves were to rush out and make an attack. The gate 
was eighty yards from the house and the negroes entered 
cautiously until within twenty yards, when the gun was 
fired. This shot was fatal. The commander. Hark, fell 
at the first fire and crawled off into the cotton patch, 
where lie was ca})tured by the slaves.^ One other was 
killed and several wounded and captured, but the rest of 
the negroes retreated in all directions, w'hen the slaves 
rushed out and assisted most heartily in the repulse and 
taking of prisoners. It was one of them, Frank, who 
made the first capture.- This was the last stand made by 

immediately commissioned Simon Blunt, a lad of fifteen, a mid- 
shipman in the United States Navy under Elliott's command. 
Blunt distinguished himself under such an efficient commander 
and rose to the ofiice of lieutenant. Loved and esteemed by all, 
he died in Baltimore, April 27, 1854. 

<Mr. W. N. Ragland, of Petersburg, owns a clock which be- 
longed to Dr. Blunt, and which still has the shot embedded in it 
which was fired bj^ the insurgents. 

iHe was dangerously wounded, and Dr. Blunt kept him for 
several days, nm'sing his w^ounds. He was then taken to the 
county jail, where every attention was paid him, his wounds 
dressed and the best of food given him. It is proverbial in the 
county how he cracked the chicken bones with his teeth. He 
was too valuable a witness, and it was necessary to have his 
testimony in the trials of his associates. It was in this helpless 
condition, the doctors feeling his pulse and propped up on pil- 
lows so he could see them, that he, at his own request, received 
the Thomas family, to whom he talked freely and remarked. "If 
you had been at home you would not be here now." 

2His prisoner was ^.loses, who belonged to Mr. Thomas Bar- 
row, and who, when within thirty feet of the liouse, dismounted 
and chased ^lary, a negro girl, who, according to the instructions 
of her mistress, was fleeing with her little child. She ran into 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 73 

the blacks. Nat determined to retrace the route he had 
taken the day before. But he was very much discouraged, 
as the people of his own color had turned against him.^ 
He turned to the southwest and came to Captain Harris', 
where he had been the day before. In the woods near this 
place the Greenesville cavalry charged the few who still 
clung together and killed nearly all of them, among the 
killed being Will, the savage executioner.- 

Two, however, — Jacob and Nat — remained faithful to 
their leader and, with him, concealed themselves in the 
swamp until nearly night, when Nat sent them in search 
of Henry, Sam, Nelson, and Hark, to direct them to rally 
their men at the Cabin Pond, the rendezvous of the pre- 
ceding Sunday. He himself immediately retired thither. 
The next day he saw white men riding around in search 
of him. He then concluded that Jacob and Nat had been 
taken and compelled to betray him. They were taken, 
and, it is very likely, betrayed him, as the whites had dis- 
covered the place of general rendezvous, but they had also 
helped to encourage the fugitives and to circulate their 
leader's orders." Nat was discouraged by the appearance 
of the white men on Wednesday and gave up all hope for 
the present. On Thursday night, supplying himself with 

the garden and made the child hide in the bushes, while she 
returned to meet her pursuer. But Frank had seen the chase 
and followed Moses, who ran, shouting, "G — d d — n you, I have 
got you," and captured him, without the least resistance, in the 
corner of the fence. 

Jit is said he remarked, "We must turn to the north." 
2For months skeletons could be seen in these woods. 
3At the trial of Mr. Benjamin Edwards' negroes, two who had 
remained constant testified that on Tuesday, while the white 
people and some other slaves were at Waller's burying the dead, 
Thomas Haithcock, a free negro, and four boys came to Mr. 
Edwards' and stated that "General Nat" would be there on 
Wednesday or Thursday to enlist four "likely boys" belonging 
to this gentleman. These negroes confessed that they had been 
with the insurgents and intended to join them again, and per- 
suaded three of these "likely boys" to consent to go with them. 



74 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

provisions from Mr. Travis', he scratched a hole under a 
pile of fence rails in a field and concealed himself therein.^ 
He knew that he was suspected of being concealed in the 
woods, so was careful to select a spot elsewhere. Here 
he lay hid for six weeks, never venturing out except for a 
few minutes in the dead of night to get water, which, 
however, was very near. 

The course traveled by the insurgents is somewhat 
roughly represented by the figure eight, and well char- 
acterizes their ideas and knowledge of the country, and 
shows a general want of aim, purpose, and discipline. 
Detachments visited the places lying within this bound- 
ary, as also those contiguous to its exterior, but no one 
was there murdered. The whites had been warned by 
loyal slaves and fled.- 

PURSUIT AND CAPTURE OF THE INSUR- 
GENTS. — The resistance offered at Parker's Field 
and at Belmont was sufficient to completely quell 
the insurgents. For a day and night the negroes 
had traversed the country, leaving desolation in their 

iThis cave is on the farra now owned by Mr. Albert Francis. 

2Many residences of important and distinguished citizens 
schools and chm-clies lay within this space. Mr. John K. Wil- 
liams was the principal of the school attended by the chddren of 
the neighborhood of Cross Keys, and he had assembled his pu- 
pils when it was announced that the negroes were making in 
the direction of his school, which was a short distance from the 
main road and about a mile from Mr. Nat Francis's. This man 
never recovered from the shock. He became almost insane 
from grief, and at Branch's Bridge, which is on the Virginia 
and Carolina line, and was consequently well guarded and a 
place of refuge, Mr. Williams wished to kill every negro who 
came in siglit. It was with difiiculty that he was restrained 
from killing a negro boy who had been sent to report the condi- 
tion of affairs in the neighborhood of the riot. Mrs. Nathan 
Pope, of Newsom's, is the daughter of Mr. Williams. 

"Turner's Old Meeting House," which claimed the membership 
of the majority of the murdered victims, stood within these 
bounds. This church still stands, and though its name is changed, 
bears witness to the days of August, 1831. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSTIRIIECTION. 75 

track, and had yet met with no resistance. This might lead 
to the supposition that the people of Southampton were 
ignorant, undisciplined, or cowardly. But sucli was not 
the explanation of Nat's success. No sign of rebellious 
spirit had appeared among the slaves, and the leaders had 
been especially industrious and obedient preceding the 
21st of August. The citizens had been thrown completely 
off their guard. Many of them were attending the camp- 
meeting^ in Gates county. North Carolina, whither had 
assembled people from all the neighboring counties of 
Virginia and North Carolina to spend some days in the 
accustomed manner of such religious meetings. Thirty 
miles from home, they could know nothing of what was 
going on. Monday morning a man rode at full speed into 
the camp, crying at the top of his voice: "The negroes 
are in a state of insurrection in Southampton county and 
are killing every white person from the cradle up, and 
are coming this way." No organized effort, under such 
circumstances, could be made. Each one thought first of 
his own home, and set out immediately to find his rela- 
tives, some murdered and others in the greatest state of 
confusion. Then, too, the commencement of the raid 
was in the dead of night, and the murderers, proceeding 
noiselessly from farm to farm, had spared none who 
might spread the alarm. When morning came no one 
was left but slaves, and they were threatened with their 
lives if any signs of loyalty to the whites were exhibited. 
Many of them had witnessed the great success of the 
insurgents and the lack of opposition. These circum- 
stances gave a temporary security to the negroes. The 
servants who gave the alarm were members mostly of 
homes which had not yet been visited. Seeing the insur- 
gents in time, they had rescued their owners before ap- 
pearing among the blacks. Even those negroes who had 

iCamp-meetings were not so frequent in this section after this. 



76 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

been persuaded or forced to join the band, and who after- 
ward became disheartened, were afraid to report the true 
nature of the insurrection, and said the British were the 
offenders. The white people would more readily believe 
this than that their slaves were guilty. This report like- 
wise reached the neighboring counties, where some of 
the negroes signified their desire to join the British in 
killing the whites. The Greenesville cavalry, on its way 
to the scene of the massacre, was met by some women 
and children fleeing to Belfield. Taking the cavalry for a 
body of the British, they fled precipitately. Not until nine 
or ten o'clock on Monday was it fully and generally ascer- 
tained that the slaves had risen. There was, as in all Vir- 
ginia counties, a local militia, but it was difficult to assem- 
ble it quickly. The members lived some distance apart, 
and each naturally thought of the safety of his family 
before answering the summons to assemble at Jerusalem. 
Consequently, it was Tuesday before the regiment could 
be mustered. Still a small force had assembled on Mon- 
day, and it was this body that came to the rescue of the 
eighteen whites at Parker's Field. 

On account of the first report that the British were in 
the county, and afterward, when the number of slaves 
was so exaggerated, the people thought it best to fortify 
the principal rivers and roads to prevent the spread of the 
insurrection into other counties of Virginia and North 
Carolina. They knew that the enemy were between the 
Blackwater, the Nottowaj', the Chowan, and Meherrin 
rivers. Consequently, Cross Keys, Branch's bridge. Boy- 
kin's bridge, Haley's bridge, Belfield, Cary's bridge, and 
other places were fortified and made rendezvous for the 
women and children. This done, a small squad was left 
to protect the helpless, and the rest set out in search of 
the rebellious blacks. The young men and those who 
had no families assembled first, many being drafted as 
thev were met. The men east of Nottowav river col- 




tt^iLli^ 




Parker's Gate. 




Battk'rield in Parker's Field. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSUHRECTION. 77 

lected the women and children under a sufficient guard 
at such places as Vicksville before rendering aid to the 
citizens of West Southampton. Ample assistance was 
afterward oifered, but the riot had been practically sup- 
pressed by the Southampton militia and patrol before the 
knowledge of it had reached to any distance. 

There were no ready means of communication, and the 
soldiers had to make their way up the navigable rivers to 
the nearest points and then on foot over the country roads 
to the scene of action. Consequently, it took some time 
for assistance to arrive, though lines of communication 
were established by means of couriers traveling from 
Jerusalem to Petersburg, Richmond, Smithfield, Suffolk, 
Norfolk, Murfreesboro, and other places of importance.^ 
Such exaggerated reports, too, were in circulation that the 
distant militia had to look to the security of their own 
sections before leaving home.- Such was the excitement 
in Richmond and its vicinity that patrols were estab- 
lished in every section, and no one could enter a district 
after dark without danger of being killed or arrested, 
under suspicion of inciting rebellion among the slaves.^ 

lit Is said that Mr. Thomas Joues killed two horses in carrjang 
the report of the trouble to the Governor. 

2The report was that the insurgents numbered one hundred 
and fifty mounted and the same number on foot, all armed with 
clubs, axes, scythes, fowling-pieces, and had killed sixty or sev- 
enty people. The battle at Parker's Field was said to have 
amounted to only a defeat of the blacks, in which but six were 
killed, eight wounded and the rest of the above number left 
to make their way to South Quay and probably to the Dismal 
Swamp. As late as the 23d it was reported in Richmond that 
seventy whites had been killed, and the militia in a body of 
three hundred, the powder with which they loaded their shot- 
guns having been ruined, as reported, by a shower of rain, were 
retreating before six or eight hundred negroes. 

3Mr. John G. Stanard, of Roxbury, Spottsylvania county, on 
Monday evening, when the news of the insurrection reached 
Richmond, was in the city and intended leaving that night. He 
came by private conveyance, as there were no railroads. He 
had to hasten away before guards were stationed to prevent the 



78 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

'Gen. W. H. Brodnax, who had retired to Greenesville 
county to take command of the forces there, and with 
whom General Eppes had established communication, 
wrote the Governor, on the 25th: "The consternation 
unfortunately was not confined to the county where the 
danger existed, but extended over all immediately about 
it. Not a white family in many neighborhoods remained 
at home, and many went to other counties, and the rest 
assembled at different points in considerable numbers for 
mutual protection. In numerous instances females, with 
their children, fled in the night with but one imperfect 
dress and no provisions. I found every hovel at Hicks' 
Ford literally filled with women and children, with no 
way to lodge but in heaps on the floors, without an article 
of food or the means of procuring or cooking provisions. 
Other engagements of primary necessity prevented any 
attempt to ascertain their numbers. The charity of the 
few residents of the village would have been greatly 
inadequate to their support, and many seemed willing to 
encounter starvation itself rather than return home 
unprotected and while their husbands and sons were in 
the field." In Mecklenburg county the committee of 
safety wrote the Governor as follows: ^'Properly armed, 
we have entire confidence in our ability to defend our- 
selves, as well as to give aid to other places which may 
be threatened. Up to this time (August 25) there has 
been no insurrection or movement in this county, but we 
cannot expect forbearance if the insurgents below us are 

passa.!^ of citizens. When be reached Merry Oak Tavern, in 
Hanover county, it was closed. After repeated knocking and 
banging at the door, someone polced his head out from a garret 
window and yelled that no one could get in there that night. 
Riding on, he was charged upon by a body of patrol, who 
thought at first that he was a negro and afterwards an accom- 
plice. He, too, had taken them for negroes. But having con- 
vinced them of his true character he was released. It was, how- 
ever, late in the night before he secured a resting place.— W. G. 
Stanard, Secretary of the Virginia Historical Society. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 79 

not speedily quelled. We consider that less time will be 
lost by Your Excellency's pressing or otherwise procuring 
wagons to transport arms hither." This expresses the 
state of affairs in a county whose inhabitants consisted 
of eight thousand whites and twelve thousand blacks. In 
Greenesville county the negroes, several hundred strong, 
were reported to be in communication with those of 
North Carolina and to be marching to the assistance of 
the insurgents of Southampton, and videttes were estab- 
lished between Hicks' Ford and Lawrenceville, Bruns- 
wick county. 

Nor was the excitement and exaggeration less in South- 
ampton. The people fled to North Carolina and the neigh- 
boring counties, or collected at the public places under 
guard. A citizen^ says: '^I recollect some of the incidents 
with as much vividness as if they had occurred only yes- 
terday; the arrival of my Aunt Pierre at our farm from 
her abode a mile distant — the meeting took place at a 
well on our farm — she had in her hand a bag of bank 
notes, for my uncle was a capitalist — she burst into tears 
on meeting my mother, and lamentations by both and 
cries of distress were heard. It was but natural. All the 
families for some miles arOund assembled at Vicksville, 
a mile from our farm; a number of men guarded them, 
while a still more numerous body went together in search 
of the negroes who had risen in rebellion. We were in 
Vicksville some days; I know I slept on the floor, and the 
firing of shotguns was almost incessant." 

The same excitement prevailed in North Carolina, and 
the people rushed to the county seats and little villages 
for protection. ''It was 'court week,' " says John Wheeler, 
of Miirfreesboro,- "and most of our men were twelve miles 
away, in Win ton. Fear was seen in every face; women 

iW. O. Denegre. St. Paul, Minn. 
^Baltimore Gazette. 



80 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

pale and terror-stricken, children crying for protection, 
men fearful and full of foreboding, but determined to be 
ready for the worst." The alarm was given by a "lily- 
livered boy," who rode post haste into town, that a hostile 
force was within eight miles. This report caused the 
greatest consternation. A respectable and aged gentle- 
man, Mr. Thomas Weston, was so disturbed that he died 
of excitement. The citizens immediately formed a com- 
pany and set out to meet the enemy, but the report proved 
false.^ Such was the state of things in all the other coun- 
ties. A citizen- of Northampton county, North Carolina, 
says: "One of the most memorable years in the history of 
Northampton county was the year of 1831, the year of 
Nat Turner's Southampton insurrection, which occurred 
in August of that year. Railroads and telegraphs were 
then unknown; couriers and fast horses supplied their 
places. The day after the insurrection over night, couriers 
were sent in every direction to notify the people. North- 
ampton county, on Roanoke river, was the central point 
of attraction. Several thousand negroes were known to 
be on the great river plantations between Weldon and the 
line of Bertie county. Some of the negroes who had 
been captured in Southampton with arms in their hands 
had stated that the uprising on Roanoke was to have 
been simultaneous with that in Southampton, but that 
the mistake of a week in point of time had prevented it. 
The Johnsons, Longs, Amises, Lockharts, Exums, Pol- 
locks, and others owned thousands of negroes on their 
extensive plantations on the river. The news left the im- 
pression on the minds of many that the Roanoke negroes 
would rise at the appointed time, which was just one week 
after the Southampton insurrection. The whole country 

lA citizen of Murfreesboro, in Norfolk Herald, first Saturdav in 
September, 1831. 

2Col. D. H. Hardee, in Patron and Gleanor, Rich Square, Nortli 
Carolina. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 81 

was thrown into the greatest consteruation. Almost every 
day some reports were started which produced great 
alarm. Many horses were killed by the couriers from rapid 
riding carrying the latest news from point to point. One 
courier from the river plantations brought the news to 
Jackson that five hundred negroes from Pollock's planta- 
tion were within six miles of Jackson. Other alarming 
reports were hourly coming in. In Gumberry, where 
my father lived, three or four families would meet 
together at a neighbor's house for mutual protec- 
tion." A letter from Halifax, North Carolina, dated 
August 24, says: "I want you to send me, per the 
first boat, two kegs of gunpowder. The negroes have 
risen against the white people and the whole country is 
in an uproar. We have to keep guard night and day. 
We have had no battle yet, but it is expected every 
hour."^ 

It was natural, under the circumstances, that homes 
should be well fortified and guarded before any assist- 
ance was sent to the people of Southampton. This having 
been done, forces poured in from all directions, so that by 
Thursday, the 25th, there were three thousand troops on 
the way to Southampton and more preparing to set out. 
Richmond lies about eighty miles to the north of South- 
ampton, but a. courier had made his way thither by Mon- 
day night. The Governor immediately took prompt and 
efficient means to render assistance. He called out the 
militia of all the eastern counties and forced into service 
all the horses and wagons convenient to bear arms and 
ammunition to the scene. Eight hundred stand of arms 
were sent for the militia of Nansemond, Isle of WMght, 
and Surry counties, besides those sent to Southampton 
and to the other counties of Virginia. After a temporary 
company of cavalry had been formed for home protection 

iNorfolk Beacon, Saturday, August 27, 1831. 



82 THE SOUTHAIVIPTON INSURRECTION. 

and a force provided for nightly patrol, the two volunteer 
companies of Richmond — the Light Dragoons, under 
Captain Randolph Harrison, and the Lafayette Artillery, 
under Captain John B. Richardson — ^left for the scene of 
action. The former left at 5 o'clock on Tuesday, to travel 
the country road, and reached Southampton on Wednes- 
day night; the latter, with four field pieces, embarked 
upon the steamboat Norfolk, to land at Smithfield, at 
which place they arrived, with one thousand stand of 
arms, on Thursday. 

'A gentleman, riding from Suffolk, reported the uprising 
in Southampton to the people of Norfolk on Tuesday 
morning. The authorities of Norfolk immediately 
appealed, through Captain Capron, of the Norfolk Inde- 
pendent Volunteers, to Colonel House, who w^as at the 
time in command at Fortress Monroe. At o'clock on 
Wednesday morning Colonel House embarked on board 
the steamer Hampton, with three companies of soldiers 
and a piete of artillery. Colonel House, however, turned 
over the command to Colonel Worth and Major Kirby, 
who were reinforced in Hampton Roads by detachments 
from the United States ships Warren and Natchez. These 
detachments were commanded by Commodore Elliott, 
who, though just from a long cruise, insisted on going in 
person to the scene of action. This force of near*ly three 
hundred men landed at Suffolk and marched to South- 
ampton, which they reached Saturday evening and left 
Sunday at 2 p. m. The Norfolk Junior Volunteers, under 
Lieutenant Newton, and the Portsmouth Greys, under 
Captain Watts, left Tlmrsday morning on the steamboat 
Constitution for Smithfield, where, on Friday, they were 
met by the Richmond Artillery as they were returning 
home. The Norfolk and Portsmouth companies conse- 
quently reversed their course. The citizens of Norfolk 
and Portsmouth also accoutred, formed themselves into 
companies of ca^'alry and set out to aid their fellow 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 88 

citizens. Commodore Warrington, at the request of the 
civil authorities of Norfolk, forwarded from the Gosport 
Navy Yard muskets, pistols, swords, and ammunition, to 
be sent by way of Suffolk to the citizens of Southampton, 

The Sussex regiment, four companies from Petersburg,. 
and one from Prince George, under Captain Edward Ruf- 
iin, marched for Southampton. In addition to these. Gen- 
eral Brodnax held the Brunswick and Greenesville militia, 
together with a fine troop of cavalry from Mecklenburg, 
ready to lend assistance at any moment. The Isle of 
Wight, Nansemond, and Surry troops were guarding the 
borders of the counties to prevent an escape of the insur- 
gents to the Dismal Swamp. Their citizens also did active 
service in furnishing horses and carts for the transporta- 
tion of the above-mentioned arms and ammunition from 
Smithfield and Sullolk to Southampton, as well as in pro- 
viding couriers for carrying news.^ 

North Carolina, too, gave generous and I'eady aid. 
Hertford county proceeded to fortify her bridges, ferries, 
and villages, and, this accomplished, troops liastened to 
Southampton. Winton, the county seat, retaining a 
guard of seventy-five men, armed and equipped sixty 
others and sent them to the scene of insurrection, while 
Murfreesboro sent one hundred, between two and three 
hundred having been left to protect her inhabitants. The 
Northampton militia actually reached Southampton and 
the Gates militia was called out and ready to march at the 
first summons. The Roanoke Blues, of Halifax county, 
commanded by Colonel Jesse H. Simmons, reached 
Virginia Tuesday evening, while the rest of her militia, 
under Colonel Johnson, was held in readiness in case of 
an emergency. Couriers were passing to and fro to notify 
them in case they were needed and to keep the Carolinians 

iThe Legislature of the succeeding Avinter rewarded many of 
these citizens for the losses they had experienced on this ac- 
count. 



S4: THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

informed of the state of affairs. The militia of many of 
the counties of Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina 
were called out and held in readiness to suppress any 
attempt at servile insurrection. General Eppes, of Sussex 
county, was in command of the eastern division of Vir- 
ginia, and consequently all forces reported to him. 

The Southampton militia and citizens had fought well, 
had dispersed the rebels, and captured or killed all of 
them hj Thursday except Nat Turner. But they were 
greatly assisted in the capture by the cavalry troops from 
abroad. Southampton was deficient in cavalry, which 
was especially needed. Consequently, many of the troops 
of cavalry remained, while the infantry returned,^ in obe- 
dience to the general orders of General Eppes, issued on 
Wednesday, the 24th, which said the scene of the mas- 
sacre was perfectly quiet and no more troops were needed. 
In a letter of the same date to the Governor he stated that 
all the insurgents had either been killed or captured 
except the leader.^ 

The condition of atfairs in Southampton for about ten 
days after the massacre is best described by a committee 
of citizens in a letter to President Jackson, on the 29th 
of August, of which the following is an extract: "Most of 
the havoc has been confined to a limited section of our 
county, but so inhuman has been the butchery, so indis- 
criminate the carnage, that the tomahawk and scalping 
knife have now no horrors. Along the road traveled by 

lOne of the Norfolk volunteers wrote on Friday, August 27: 
"We succeeded in taking twelve men and one woman prisoner 
who, it appeared, had taken part in the massacre of the inhabi- 
tants of this county, together with the celebrated Nelson, fre- 
quently called by the blacks General Nelson. * * * in fact, 
all the ringleadei's, with the exception of the prophet, have been 
taken or killed. Several of those who have been taken prisoners 
have confessed partly to the murder."— Norfolk Beacon. 

2lt appears from this that the report was true that Nat told 
his men at Blunt's that he was going to look out for himself 
-and that they must do the same. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURIIEOTION. 85 

our rebellious blacks, comprising a distance of something 
like twenty-seven miles, no white soul now lives to tell 
how iiendlike was their purpose. In the bosom of almost 
every family this enemy still exists. Our homes, those 
near the scenes of havoc, as well as others more remote, 
have all been deserted and our families gathered together 
and guarded at public places in the county; and, still 
further, the excitement is so great that were the justices 
to pronounce a slave innocent, we fear a mob would be the 
consequence." Consequently, many rebels were shot, and 
some innocent negroes suffered.^ Some prisoners taken 
near Cross Keys were shot by the Murfreesboro troops, 
under Mr. John Wheeler.- The heads of these negroes 
were stuck up on poles, and for weeks their grinning 
skulls remained, a warning to all who should undertake 
a similar plot. With the same purpose, the captain of the 
marines, as they marched through Vicksville on their way 
home, bore upon his sword the head of a rebel. The fol- 
lowing is from the Norfolk Herald of August 29th : ''Our 
Winton, friend says, report says four of the desperadoes 
were preachers, and the one who commanded at the 
battle was a preacher, and assisted in murdering his mis- 
tress (Mrs. Whitehead). After they were dispersed this 
rascal returned home and pleaded that he was forced bj^ 
the others. Ten of the mounted men from this county 
called at Whitehead's to see the horrors that had been 

lit is said that some citizens who had been on Tuesday in 
search of rebels stopped at the Turner place for the night. Next 
morning a negro servant, while getting the saddles to harness 
the horses, was taken for a rebel and shot dead by Mr. Howell 
Harris, Avho was suddenly aroused from his sleep. 

2He was father of the historian, John H. Wheeler. Mr. Fran- 
cis entered the old store house at Cross Keys, where several 
prisoners were confined, and catching sight of Easter, who had 
saved his wife, embraced her with tears in his eyes and caused 
her immediate release. But, beholding Charlotte, he dragged 
her out, tied her to an oak tree, and she was riddled with bul- 
lets, he firing the first shot. The tree died from the number of 
shot which pierced it. 



86 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

committed there, when this fellow came out, meeting 
them with smiles, and commenced telling them how 
roughly the negroes had also treated him. Some South- 
ampton gentlemen who were with them as guides told 
them that he commanded the group at Parker's old field, 
when they all fired on him and he fell dead near the 
remains of his mistress."^ 

But, considering that Southampton was the scene of 
the massacre, her citizens did not commit as many errors 
as did those of other counties. General Eppes, in an 
official letter, dated August 31, noting the apprehension 
which prevailed among the negroes, said: "Coupled 
with the violence done upon some in the neighborhood, 
who had been shot at sight, even without knowing who 
they were, it does not seem to me remarkable that they 
should be under apprehension." But, referring to a case 
in a neighboring county, where a negro had been exam- 
ined, discharged, and afterward shot, he adds: "I put an 
end to this inhuman butchery in two days, dispersed the 
troops from where they were assembled: the citizens 
retired, and I have not heard of an act of violence since, 
except upon the rebels in arms who refused to surrender." 
There was far less of this indiscriminate murder than 
might have been expected, and as many guilty negroes 
escaped as innocent ones perished. Two of the negroes 
of Mr. James Parker were discharged on his evidence 
that they had previously been of good character and that 
if they were guilty it was due to evil persuasion. They 
were sent South, however. Some years later Mr. Parker 
.saw an account of the execution of a negro in Mississippi 
for attempted insurrection and rebellion. On the gallows 
he gave his name and confessed that he formerly belonged 
to Mr. James W. Parker, of Virginia, and had been sent 

iThis fellow probably commanded the group dispersed at 
Parker's gate. 



^ s 



^ 




<T> 


tn 


Oi 








n 


o 




S- 




O 



>«n 




THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 87 

thither for a crime similar to the one for which he was 
about to atone. 

Mr. Henry DeBerry lived in Northampton county, 
North Carolina, about thirty miles from Cross Keys. Mrs. 
DeBerry, her fourteen-months-old infant and nurse, 
accompanied by two lady friends, were at the camp- 
meeting in Gates county when it was reported that the 
negroes were in a state of rebellion in Southampton. In 
the wi^d and hurried excitement, Mrs. DeBerry did not 
notice the route her driver had taken, having perfect 
confidence in him, until she met four men, who told her 
she had taken the wrong road and was within a few miles 
of the scene of the insurrection. The driver insisted 
he was going the right way, but on the appearance of Mr. 
DeBerry, who had heard of the insurrection and started 
in search of his wife, the negro admitted that he intended 
to carry the ladies to Nat Turner, kill them, take the 
horses and join the insurgents. Only the pleadings of his 
wife and these gentlemen restrained Mr. DeBerry in his 
determination to kill the negro. He was sent South and 
about twent}' years ago the children of the family received 
A letter from this former slave, who was then in Lou- 
isiana, desiring to know about the family. He said : "For 
fear the old people are dead and the young ones will not 
jecognize me, I am Otie, the carriage driver, who 
attempted to carry my kind and good mistress to old Nat 
Turner's insurrection." Many other negroes escaped 
through the charity of their owners or the reason and 
protection of some influential person. Major Pitt Thomas 
prevented the murder of several prisoners at Cross Keys 
by stepping between the negroes and those about to 
.'hoot, and saying it was time for such things to stop, and 
that the prisoners should be treated well and have fair 
trials. Colonel W. C. Parker, who had served in the War 
of 1812 on the Canadian border, and who was at this time 
a distinguished lawyer of Jerusalem, persuaded the people 



80 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

to spare the prisoners in the Jail. Colonel Parker had also 
commanded a party of thirty or forty men who took part 
in capturing the insurgents. 

It was throug''h the influence of such men that confi- 
dence was restored and the citizens returned to their 
homes. General Eppes wrote the Governor on the 24th 
that the affair had been exaggerated, and that twenty 
resolute men could at any time have overcome the insur- 
gents. General Brodnax substantiated this evidence in a 
letter dated the 25th, in which he said to the Governor he 
had dismissed the Sixty-sixth and Ninety-sixth Kegi- 
ments, of Brunswick, who, with the Greenesville militia 
and a body of cavalry from Mecklenburg, had assembled 
at the first alarm, and that so completely had the people 
been convinced of the futility of the alarm that they had 
returned home from Hicks' Ford. 

But the citizens could not be entirely at ease. The 
leader of the insurgents was still at large. For weeks he 
lay in his cave, though diligently hunted, and it is said 
men rode over him in their search. Not only were the 
people of Southampton active, but all Virginia, as well 
as Maryland and North Carolina, exerted every effort ta 
effect his capture. In September the Governor of Virginia 
issued a proclamation offering a reward of five hundred 
dollars for the capture of Nat, and urged the people to 
use their best efforts for his apprehension, that he might 
be dealt with as the law directed.^ Southampton county 
also offered a reward of five hundred dollars, besides one 
of several hundred dollars offered by individual citizens. 
Every suspicious character was taken for the fugitive. 
Consequently, the Governor received letters on different 
occasions announcing that he had been caught. The Nor- 
folk Herald of October 1st said: "A young man from 
Jerusalem reported at Smithfield that Nat was captured: 

iXational Gazette, September 21, 1S31. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 89 

in some weeds on Nottoway river; that, when a body of 
horsemen appeared he ran and hid himself, but sank so 
deep in the mud that he was captured and put in the 
county jail. He also reported that Nat was well armed 
with a musket, two pistols, a sword, and a dirk, but that 
he did not fire a shot."^ There was a report from Bote- 
tourt that a very suspicious character was met on the road 
between Fincastle and Sweet Springs, near Price's Tav- 
ern, by two young white men, who, while disputing over 
his dirk, let him run off, leaving his package behind. 
Some free negroes a few days later told Mr. Price that 
they had seen this same man, and that they were going 
with him to Ohio. The ferryman on New river reported 
(hat the man tried to cross over, and, when refused pass- 
age, ran off down the river.^ It was also reported that 
Nat had been captured in Baltimore, Maryland. These 
reports continued until the people thought he had escaped 
either to Ohio or the West Indies, and began to subside 
into quietude once more. But at no time had he been five 
miles from the scene of the massacre. After remaining 
in his cave^ for six weeks without leaving except for 
water in the dead of night, he became bolder, and con- 
cluded he could venture out. Consequently, he spent the 
day in sleep and the night in eavesdropping at the houses 
in the neighborhood, seeking information regarding the 
trials, etc., and returning before morning. Nat continued 
this course for a fortnight without gaining any informa- 
tion, and, fearing to speak to any human being, he might 

iThis resembles the true story of his capture, but it was a 
month later before he was captured. 

2Norfolk Herald, September 28, 1831. This* negro proved to be 
a Methodist preacher. He was dressed in a blue-cloth coat, and 
in his hymn-book was written "Mesheck Turner." In another 
place was "richman Wheeler," in child or negro writing, sup- 
posed to stand for Richmond Wheeler. 

3This was not a natural cave, but a simple hole dug in the 
ground and covered with fence rails. 



90 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

liave continued it for some time had lie not been acci- 
dentally discovered/ "Eed" Nelson, as we have seen, was 
allowed many liberties. Passing near Nat's cave one night 
when he was out, Nelson's dog entered and stole some 
meat. A few nights afterward Nelson and a friend were 
again out hunting and their dog entered the cave a second 
time. This time Nat was on the outside walking around, 
and the dog, on emerging, saw him and barked. Convinced 
that he was discovered, Nat spoke to the negroes, told 
them who he was, and begged them to conceal him. But 
as he was armed, they fled and reported the fact to the 
civil authorities. Immediately a body of citizens armed 
themselves and set out in pursuit. But he had moved. 
For the next fortnight he had many narrow escapes, and 
was several times seen by whites as well as by blacks. He 
seems to have lost all hope and to have had no definite 
place of concealment. He meditated surrender. One 
night Mrs. Lavinia Francis and her mother heard a knock 
at their door. They were afraid to wake Mr. Francis for 
fear of his being murdered in the manner in which his 
brother had been, Seceiving no response, the intruder 
left. Nat afterward confessed he was the person, and 
said he came to surrender to Mr. Francis,^ who, he 
believed, would be more merciful to him than anyone 
else. He also started for Jerusalem for this purpose and 
got within a few miles of the place, but his heart failed 
him. He then meditated getting out of the country, but 
as he could not travel by day and the patrols were so 
vigilant by night, this was impossible. He continued to 
roam from place to place, bis chief place of concealment 

iHe kept an accurate account of the time by means of a 
notched stick, which was found in the cave at tiie time of his 
capture. 

2Mr. Francis was a Christian and active member of Turner's 
^■lethodist Church. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 91 

being a fodder stack^ on Mr. Nathaniel Francis' farm. 
Here he was seen a few days before his capture by Mr. 
Francis, who shot at him as he ran, but he chanced to 
fall at the discharge and the contents of the pistol only 
penetrated his hat.^ 

This was October 27th, the Thursday before his cap- 
ture. Men scoured the woods in the neighborhood, but he 
was not captured until Sunday morning, the 30th of Octo- 
ber. He had been seen twice in an open field, so he con- 
cluded to move to the woods. Going about two miles to 
the northwest, he dug a cave" under the top of a fallen 

ilu eastern Virgiuia and Nortli Carolina the blades of foddet 
are stripped from tlie cornstalks, cured, and tied into large 
bundles, and then firmly paclied around a pole into a tall stack. 
Then the upper parts of tJae stallis, called the tops, with five or 
sis blades of fodder on each, are cut and stacked near the fodder 
in a V-shaped heap, somewhat resembling a Gypsy tent, leaving 
a space beneath. It was here that Nat was concealed. 

"He wore this hat at the time of his capture and exhibited it 
with much pride. 

sThis cave is like the first and is between one and two miles 
distant from it. It was dug with a fine dress sword, whfch has 
an ivory handle and is tipped with silver, and which was used 
by Nat in the massacre. It is now in the possession of Mr. 
James D. Westbrook, of DrewrjrsriHe, Virginia, a relative of Mr. 
Phipps. The cave may still be seen on the farm of Mr. J. S. 
Musgrave, marked by the remains of a large pine, which stood 
at its entrance and which bears three gashes, cut by Mr. Phipps 
with Nat's sword. 

Mr. Frank Alford, of Suffollf, claims to have Nat Turner's 
sword and musket, which his father, who was a member of 
the Portsmouth Cavalry, captured at Southampton. But Nat 
was uot captured until two months after the return of the cav- 
alry. Besides, Nat does not appear to have been armed with anj' 
weapon but a sword. Capt. J. .J. Darden, who remembers the 
insurrection and has handled Nat's sword, says. In the Suffolk 
Herald: 

"In your issue of July 14, 1899, appeared an item stating that 
the sword of Nat Turner, leader of the negro insurrection 
which occurred in Southampton county in 1831, was in the pos- 
session of Mr. Frank Alford, of Suffolk, whose father was a 
member of Captain Day's Portsmouth company that captured 
Nat. 

"I wish to say that if Mr. Alford has Nat Turner's sword it 
must have come from Mr. James D. Westbrook, of this county, 



92 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

tree and covered it with pine brush. Mr. Benjamin 
Phipps/ a poor but highly respected, hospitable and in- 
dustrious citizen, was on this Sunday making his way to 
the home of a neighbor, and, as was the general custom for 
the last two months, had his gun with him. He does not 
appear to have been on the hunt. A squad of men on the 
search, however, passed through the woods just ahead of 
him, and he had taken a seat by a large tree to rest. 
Thinking all had passed, Nat poked his head out among 

who owned it up to a few years ago, to my certain knowledge. 
A cavalry company from Norfolk or Portsmouth came to this 
county, but they did not capture Nat, for he was not caug'ht for 
some two or three months. 

"The insurrection collapsed at the residence of Dr. Blunt, the 
place where Mr. R. S. Pope now lives, near Pope station, on the 
Atlantic and Danville Railroad. Dr. Blunt's negroes told him 
that they were going to fight for him, and he directed them to 
get their axes and grubbing hoes and stay in his yard. (Negroes 
Avere not allowed to have firearms of any kind.) The insurrec- 
tionists reached Dr. Blunt's about sunrise, and when in his yard, 
half-way from the gate to the house, the whites upstairs opened 
fire and hit some of them, but did not kill anyone. Nat, seeing 
Dr. Bluftt's negroes ready to fight, told his men that as the ne- 
groes and whites were alj against them he should leave and 
shift for himself, and they could do the same. There were only 
about eight whites in the house. Dr. Blunt had a son sixteen 
years old, who displayed great bravery, for which he was made 
a midshipman in the United States Navy. He has been dead 
many years. 

"Nat went off and dug a cave in the ground, but after awhile 
he found that a dog had discovered his hiding-place. He then 
went to the neighborhood where he was raised and dug another 
cave on the land of Dr. Musgrave, my wife's father. The neigh- 
bors got up parties and went through the woods hunting for 
him. The last time they went to look for Nat they scattered 
through the woods, and finally a man named Benjamin Phipps 
found the cave. He called for the others, and stuck his gun 
through the top covering and told Nat to throw out everything 
he had or he would kill him, and Nat threw out his gun and 
sword. I do not believe that Nat made the sword. Mr. Benja- 
min Phipps certainly found Nat and captured him. 

"I do not write this thinking you knew you were publishing 
what was not true, but only to correct a mistake as to the facts 
:n the case." 

iHis sons were soldiers in the war between the States. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 93 

the pine brush to reconnoitre, when Mr. Phipps suddenly 
spied him, leveled his gun, and demanded: "Who are 
you? Answer!" Nat immediately replied: ''I am Nat 
Turner," and begged Phipps not to shoot. He knew the 
woods were full of armed men, and, if he succeeded in 
overcoming Phipps, he \vould only add one more crime to 
the list for which he must soon suffer. Not a gun had 
been fired for several weeks. This had been agreed upon 
as a signal of danger for the women and children to 
assemble at places of refuge.^ Nat realized that the firing 
of the gun probably meant immediate death, and con- 
cluded it best to surrender and trust to fortune.^ 

Phipps now fired his gun in the air and the news of his 
capture spread so rapidly that in less than an hour one 
hundred men had collected at Mr. Edwards'. ''Old Jeff" 
and Nelson had been sent to spread the news and assem- 
ble the people at the above place for a feast. Guns were 
fired on all sides and rendered the Sabbath one of general 
.alarm and excitement. The women thought the firing 
meant that Nat had assembled another force and was 
laying waste the country. The approach of horsemen 
increased the alarm, and many females, hugging their 
infants to their bosoms, rushed to the swamps, misinter- 
preting the cry, ''Nat is caught!" for "Nat is coming!" 
But alarm soon gave way to rejoicing. So great was 
public resentment at sight of the prisoner that it was 
difficult to convey him alive to Jerusalem. Persecuted 
with pin-pricks and soundly whipped, he was taken from 
Edwards' to Cross Keys, and thence from house to house, 
grinning and refusing to repent of his deeds. The negroes 
joined in the persecution and showed their contempt by 

iThe accidental firing of a gun at Jerusalem caused a general 
alarm, and the men rushed to arms, while the women and chil- 
dren assembled in churches for safety. 

2Mr. Phipps was alone. Still he offered to give Nat a fair 
chance if he wished to fight. But, preferring unconditional sur- 
render, Nat lay flat upon the ground and was firmly bound. 



94 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSUBRECTION. 

calling him "Old Nat," whicli is the title by which he i& 
still known. Many citizens would scarcely know who was 
meant by the name Nat Turner.^ 

Sunday night Nat was taken to the home of Mr. David 
Westbrook, who was Phipps' nearest neighbor, and well 
guarded. It is said he was rolled downhill in a barrel. 
But many of the guard, being overcome with drink, the 
most conservative and reasonable citizens concealed the 
prisoner and protected him against excessive persecution. 
The next morning, Monday, October 31st, Nat was taken 
to Jerusalem, at w^hich place he arrived at 1 :15 p. m. The 
journey had necessarily been slow on account of the 
curiosity of the citizens and the necessity of securing him 
against insults and injury. He was well guarded, 
and reason and forbearance prevailed. The reports 
that he was burnt with hot irons, gashed with 
knives, and had coals of fire thrust into his 
mouth, at all of which Nat scoffed, are false. From the 
fact that he refused to repent of his deeds, he has been 
described as brave, and for this reason his persecution 
has been greatly exaggerated, ladies actually being 
accused of sticking pins in him. He could not have sur- 
vived the persecutions which have been handed down by 
oral tradition, and his condition on his arrival at the jail 
disproved them. A citizen of Petersburg, who was in 
Jerusalem when Nat arrived, said that much praise was 
due the citizens of Southampton for their forbearance, and 
that not the least personal violence was offered him, who 
was the most miserable object he ever saw, dejected, ema- 
ciated, and ragged, possessed of no qualities of a hero or 
general, but without spirit, courage, and sagacity, . Thus 
Nat was saved and his confession and treatment have 

i"Annt A'iney," sister to Ben :ind Aaron, and Mrs. Musgrave's 
cook, asked to be allowed to whip him for causing her son's 
death. Her son had told Mrs. Musgrave of the rebellion of the 
negroes, but was later forced to join them. He escaped, how- 
ever, but he had been seen with the insurgents, so was shot. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 95 

vindicated the inhabitants of Southampton and proved 
that they were humane, considerate, and law-abiding peo- 
ple. He was delivered over to Justices James W. Parker 
and James Trezevant, who examined him for one and a 
half or two hours, Nat speaking intelligently, clearly, and 
without the least confusion, and advising other negroes 
not to attempt any such plots as he had undertaken 
through the misinterpretation of revelations. After the 
preliminary examination Nat was lodged in jail to await 
trial by the county court, great pains being taken to 
secure his safety by the appointment of a special guard. 

This w^as the last capture. Much excitement and rash- 
ness had prevailed in the pursuit and capture of the reb- 
els, but the cases of mercy and humanity overshadow 
those of barbarity and leave the decision in favor of the 
former. Other motives than humanity also worked in 
behalf of the culprits. In the first place, as many wit- 
nesses as possible were wanted in order to justify the 
people in the eyes of the world. Thus the four leaders — 
Hark, Nelson, Sam, and Nat — were spared and were 
instrumental in bringing many culprits to justice. 
Secondl}^, there was a very strong economic motive 
which was in favor of mercy. All slaves convicted 
by legal process and executed or transported, or who 
escaped before such trials, were paid for by the Common- 
wealth. But those who escaped before arrest or who 
were killed without trial were complete losses to the 
owners.^ There were special reasons why Nat was spared. 
Public curiosity had been puzzled to understand the ori- 
gin and purpose of this dreadful conspiracy and the 
motives which influenced its instigators. The insurgent 
slaves had all been destroyed or apprehended, tried and 
executed, with the exception of the leader and a few oth- 

iThus Richard Porter, Levi Waller, Peter Edwards and others 
petitioned for pay for slaves shot, but their claims were rejected 
by the Legislature of 1831. 



96 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

ers, without revealing anything at all satisfactory in 
regard to these matters. Everything connected with the 
affair was wrapped in mystery. Thus the testimony of this 
fanatical leader was needed to clear away the cloud, 
which he did in his confession to Mr. Thomas R. Gray and 
the magisterial court. Further, Mr. Phipps was a poor 
man and had many friends. Consequently, he needed the 
rewards offered, which would not have been granted had 
the prisoners been mutilated or murdered. 

TRIALS AND EXECUTIONS.— Fifty-three of the 
sixty or seventy negroes connected with the massacre 
w^ere brought before the county court. The county jail 
was crowded with prisoners for days, and many had to be 
kept under guard on the outside for want of prison room. 
But no trial was begun before the eighth of September. 
Ample time was given for excitement and passion to give 
way to order and reason. Never were more pains taken 
to give fair trials and justice to prisoners. Howison's 
"History of Virginia" says: "The trials were conducted 
with a patience and care highly creditable to the magis- 
tracy of the county." Preliminary trials were given before 
two magistrates, and, if the prisoner was deemed guilty, 
he was sent on to the county court, but if innocent he was 
dismissed. ' 

Free negroes could not be convicted by a county court. 
Of the five brought before the court four were sent on 
for further trial before the Superior Circuit Court, the 
evidence being sufficient, and one was acquitted. The 
county court was composed of all the magistrates of the 
county, of whom five were necessary for a quorum. A 
unanimous vote of the magistrates present at a trial 
was required for conviction. The Court of Oyer and 
Terminer, which convicted Nat Turner and his comrades, 
was composed of the most distinguished and intelligent 
men of the county, some of whom had been members of 
the famous convention of 1829. No one was allowed to 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 97 

preside as a justice who was interested in, or prejudiced 
against, the prisoners. Nor were witnesses permitted who 
were known to be biased. A separate trial was assigned 
eac'h prisoner and every possible chance given him to sum- 
mon witnesses and defend himself. Also, the three most 
prominent and able lavv^yers available — Vi. C. Parker, 
James K. French, and Thomas R. Gray — were assigned 
as counsel. They exerted every possible effort to secure 
justice and protection for the prisoners. Several were 
acquitted on the testimony of their owners as to their 
good characters. Trial was postponed if further witnesses 
Avere needed, and several prisoners were discharged on the 
ground of insufficient evidence. Invariably the negroes 
pleaded not guilty of the charge brought forth in the 
arraignment of the able prosecuting attorney, Mere- 
wether B. Brodnax. On the 6th of September, as it had 
been intimated that the militia would soon be discharged, 
the court, which had been in continual session since a 
week succeeding the first arrest, unanimously petitioned 
General Eppes to retain fifty men as a necessary guard 
. to the prisoners. The young negroes, too, and those 
deceived or forced into the insurrection had their sen- 
tences commuted from execution to transportation, upon 
the recommendation of the justices, of the attorney for 
the Commonwealth, and of their counsel. These are evi- 
dence that the court was uninfluenced by motives of per- 
sonal safety or prejudices against the prisoners.^ 

All the negroes known to have been connected with the 
plot were executed or transported before the 1st of Octo- 

iThree boys, Nathan, Tom, and Davy, belonging to Mr. Nat 
Francis, were forced to participate, and tlireatened with their 
lives if they escaped. The oldest of these was only fifteen years 
old and, besides, was deformed. They were assigned one of the 
above-mentioned lawyers as counsel, ti'ied and condemned to be 
hung, but on the recommendation of the court they were trans- 
ported. 



98 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

ber, except Nat and one other.^ It was very important 
that the trial of the leader should be conducted with 
especial fairness and patience. The court met on Satur- 
day, November 5th, ten of the leading men of the county,- 
instead of the customary five, presided as justices, and 
ordered the summoning of a sufficient additional guard to 
repel any attempt that might be made to take the pris- 
oners from the custody of the sheriff. After assigning 
William C. Parker counsel for the defense, the court pro- 
ceeded to the consideration of the bill of information filed 
against the prisoner by Mr. Brodnax, attorney for the 
Commonwealth. Nat. upon his arraignment, pleaded not 
guilty, declaring to his counsel that he did not feel so, 

'The first witness sworn was Levi Waller, who stated 
that he saw the prisoner, whom he knew before, at his 
home, and saw him force several reluctant slaves to mount 
their horses and follow him. He further stated that Nat 
was in command of the forces. Mr. James Trezevant 
stated that he and Mr. James Parker were the justices 
before whom the prisoners were examined previous to 
his commitment; that the prisoner was at the time in 
confinement, but no threats or promises were held out to 

lOf tliis number only one was a woman, she being the only 
female in any way guilty of participation, with the exception of 
Charlotte, who threatened the life of Mr. Lavinia Francis. This 
woman was Lncy, the slave of Mr. John T. Barrow, who at- 
tempted to prevent the escape of Mrs. Barrow, and who was con- 
victed on the evidence of her mistress and other important wit- 
nesses, among these Dr. Robert T. Miisgrave. On the 26th of 
September she was taken from the jail, and, riding npon her 
coffin, to the place of execution, and was hnng and buried in the 
well-known burying ground of the insurgents. 

-.Jeremiah Cobb, Samuel B. Hines, James D. Massenburg. 
James W. Parker, Robert Goodwin, James Trezevant, Oris 
Browne, Carr Bowers. Thomas Pretlow, and Richard A. Urqu- 
hart. Mr. Cobb presided over the court as chief magistrate and 
delivered the sentence, which has been deemed worthy of "a 
United States Chief Justice of today." 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 99 

him to make any disclosure ; that he admitted that he was 
one of the insurgents engaged in the late insurrection and 
the chief among them, that he gave to his master and mis- 
tress — Mr. Travis and his wife — the first blow before they 
were dispatched, that he killed Miss Peggy Whitehea,d, 
that he was with the insurgents from their first movement 
to their dispersion on the Tuesday morning after the in- 
surrection took place; that he gave a long account of the 
motives that led him finally to commence the bloody scene 
which took place; that he pretended to have had signs 
and omens from God that he should embark in the desper- 
ate attempt; that his comrades and even he were 
impressed with the belief that he could, by the imposition 
of his hands, cure diseases; that he related a particular 
instance in which it was believed that he had in that 
manner effected a cure upon one of his comrades; and 
that he went on to detail a medley of incoherent, confused 
opinions about his connection with God, his command 
over the clouds, etc., etc., which he had been entertaining 
as far back as 1826. Other witnesses were examined and 
Mr. W. C. Parker exerted his best efforts in behalf of his 
client. He had made a thorough examination of the inci- 
dents of the massacre, and was well acquainted with it 
from beginning to end. He had defended at least one-third 
of the prisoners brought before the court, among them 
Hark, a most Intelligent and enthusiastic conspirator, who 
had been introduced as witness in many trials and had tes- 
tified to the innocence or guilt of the prisoners. But the 
testimony was so strong against Nat that the case was 
submitted without argument. Nat could not plead cru- 
elty at the hands of an imperious and barbarous master 
as an excuse for the crime, for he confessed that he had 
had a kind and considerate master, and, in fact, an over- 
indulgent one. Nor could the plea of insanity be made, for 
the prisoner had answered questions most intelligently, 

liOfC 



100 THE SOUTHAJklPTON INSURRECTION. 

and showed a marked degree of sound judgment. Conse- 
quently, the court was of the opinion that the prisoner 
was guilty in manner and form as in the information 
against him alleged. It was then demanded of him if he 
had or knew anything to say why the court should not 
proceed to judgment and execution against him of and 
upon the premises. Nat replied that he had made a full 
confession to Mr. Thomas R. Gray.^ Having nothing to 
say in his defense, he was commanded to stand up and 
attend to the sentence of the court, which was pro- 
nounced b}' Jeremiah Cobb.- 

iTlie confession was made on Tuesday, the 1st of November, 
and two succeeding days thereafter in the county jail. Mr. Gray 
thoroughly examined him and compared the testimony of each 
day's interview with that of the preceding day or days and with 
the confessions of all the prisoners who had been previously 
tried and whom Nat had neither seen nor had any knowledge of 
since the 22d of August. Mr. Gray, too, had taken an active 
part in defending these prisoners. But Nat proved accurate and 
did not blunder. 

2The sentence was in the following words: "You have been 
arraigned and tried before the court and convicted of one of the 
highest crimes in our criminal code. You have been convicted 
of plotting, in cold blood, the indiscriminate destruction of men, 
of helpless women, and of infant children. The evidence before 
us leaves not a shadow of doubt but that your hands were often 
imbued in the blood of the innocent; and your own confession 
tells us that they were stained witli the blood of a master, in 
your own language, 'too indulgent.' Could I stop here, your crime 
would be sufhciently aggravated; but the original contriver of a 
plan deep and deadly, one that can never be effected, you man- 
aged so far to put into execution as to deprive us of many of 
our most valuable citizens; and this was done when they were 
asleep and defenseless, under circumstances shocking to human- 
ity. And while upon this part of the subject, I cannot but call 
attention to the poor, misguided wretches who have gone before 
you. They are not a few In number— they were your bosom asso- 
ciates—and the blood of all cries out aloud and calls upon you 
as the author of tlieir misfortune. Yes! You forced them un- 
prepared from time to eternity. Borne down by the load of guilt, 
j-our only justification is that you were borne away by fanaticism. 
If this be true, from my soul I pity you; and while you have my 
sympathies, I am, nevertheless, called upon to pass the sentence 
of the court. The time between this and your execution will 



THE SOUTHAJNIPTON INSUKRECTION. 101 

The sentence was received, as his late deeds and inten- 
tions had been spoken of, with calm, deliberate com- 
posure. Mr. Gray says: ''The expression of his fiendlike 
face when excited by enthusiasm, still bearing the stains 
of helpless innocence about him, clothed with rags and 
covered with chains, yet daring to raise his manacled 
hands to heaven, with a spirit soaring above the attributes 
of man, I looked on him and my blood curdled in my 
veins." Without an exception the insurgent slaves appre- 
hended, tried and convicted, had, under no coercion or 
persuasion, confessed the names of all connected with the 
conspiracy, the part they took, the names of those killed, 
etc., but they pleaded that they were forced or misled by 
the leaders. They could not tell what they expected to 
accomplish, but invariably referred to the confidence 
and belief the leader had inspired in them. They were 
thus ignorant of their undertaking, had no other purpose 
than plunder and murder, and now tried to exculpate 
themselves. But Nat Turner explained the entire plot, and 
frankly acknowledged his full participation in the guilt of 
the transaction, and that he was not only the contriver, 
but struck the first blow toward the execution of the con- 
spiracy. 

On the 11th of November the last sentence of the court 
was executed. Nat Turner and three of his associates 
were hanged, one having been sentenced before his arrest, 
and the others convicted upon his testimony. Fifty-three 
negroes had been arraigned. Of these seventeen were 
executed and twelve transported. The rest were dis- 
charged, except the four free negroes sent on to the Supe- 
rior Court. Three of the four were executed. The bodies 

necessarily be short, and your only hope mnst be in another 
Avorld. The judgment of the court is, that you be taken hence to 
the .I'ail from whence you came, thence to the place of execution, 
and on Friday next, between the hours of 10 a. m. and 2 p. m., be 
hunsT by the neck until you are dead! dead! dead! and may the 
Lord have mercy upon your soul," 



102 THE SOUTHAJVIPTON INSURRECTION. 

of those executed, with one exception, were buried in a 
decent and becoming manner. That of Nat Turner was 
delivered to the doctors, who skinned it and made grease 
of the flesh. ^ His skeleton was for many years in the pos- 
session of Dr. Massenberg, but has since been misplaced.^ 

iThe famous remedy of the doctors of ante-bellum days— cas- 
tor oil— was long dreaded for fear it was "old Nat's" grease, and 
it is doubtful if the old prejudice has entirely died out among 
the older darkies. 

2There are many citizens still living who have seen Nat's skull. 
It was very peculiarly shaped, resembling the head of a sheep, 
and at least three-quarters of an inch thick. Mr. R. S. Barham's 
father owned a money purse made of his hide. During the 
French Revolution, books are said to have been bound in the 
skins of victims of the guillotine, and now in the British M^useum 
books are exhibited bound in tanned human skin. Our news- 
papers have recorded frequently that in other States are preserved 
many memorials of like morbid and depraved taste. 




Soiithnuipton Jail. 




iBovn ►September 12, 1806. 



:\lr. Co'liii KUelieu. 

He was One of the Special Police Appoiuted to 
Guard the Jail). 



CHAPTER III. 

RELATIONS TO SLAVERY AND THE SOUTH. 

CONDITION OF THE NEGROES.— Southampton is 
one of the most prosperous counties of Virginia. It is the 
dividing line between the agricultural systems of the 
Southern and Middle Atlantic States, growing the prod- 
ucts of both sections to perfection, and requiring a diver- 
sity of agricultural knowledge seldom found elsewhere. 
Vegetables grow in abundance and variety, and the dis- 
tance from a market has alone hindered their cultivation 
to a greater extent. The soil is especially suited to the 
tuitivation of grain, and thus the farmers are independent, 
the extensive low-grounds furnishing acorns in abundance 
•for the droves of hogs annually slaughtered. The county 
is the banner cotton section of the State, and its average 
production per acre is as great as that of any of the older 
cotton States. This is a fact seldom noticed, Virginia not 
being especially adapted to the production of cotton. 
Her peanuts are superior to those of any country. To- 
bacco Is also one of the money crops, and apples, pears, 
peaches, and other fruits grow luxuriantly and yield 
abundantly. Some of the largest and finest apple orch- 
ards of the State are found here, and in former years — 
not so much so now — these orchards received much atten- 
tion and great care. They yielded large quantities of 
apples, which were manufactured into the finest brandy 
and cider vinegar known in the trade.^ Southampton 
apple brandy, as well as Southampton bacon, has for 
years been the Jbest in the market, and a citizen is strongly 

lit is within the memory of the youngest citizens that these 
distilleries have generally disappeared. 



104 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

impressed with this fact by the gentle reminders of those 
whom he tells of his native county. Every farm has its 
apple orchard, and many an old settlement is today known 
only by the decaying apple trees which mark the spot. 
Apple brandy was the principal source of revenue. Cot- 
ton, corn, and tobacco grew in the orchard, and while 
they were maturing the apples were gathered and manu- 
factured into brandy and cider. Thus the apple crop was 
clear profit. The following are the words of a native of 
Southampton at the time of our narrative: "Apple brandy 
was a factor, and an important one, in those bloody scenes. 
But for that many more would have been murdered. 
Nearly everybody at that time had an orchard, and it was 
probably the largest source of revenue in a county where 
revenues were small. I know my father's income was de- 
rived chiefly from the brandy he made and sold. When- 
ever they (the negroes) stopped in their raids they drank 
abundantly of it."^ 

It is true that the revenues were small at this time, and 
likewise that all supplies were produced at home — nails, 
horseshoes, and plows, as well as vehicles. Every farm 
had its carpenter and shoemaker, who was, in many 
cases, the master, and the weaving house was, until re- 
cently, to be seen in the rear of the dwelling, presided over 
by the mistress and her chief colored weaver. The old 
slaves also made the best physicians and nurses. They 
were gentle and sympathetic, and their services v*^ere 
especially valued. The gradual disappearance of this class 
of negroes marks the changes of modern times. Bishop 
Potter, of New York, says: "I listened the other day to 
the story of a charming woman, of marked culture and 

iThis is evidently one cause why more discipline was not ob- 
served and more whites not killed by Nat Turner and his band. 
Every person who witnessed the scenes of 1831, men and women, 
e\en the most earnest advocates of temperance, concludes his 
or her story with the honest confession, "This is one case In 
which brandy did good." 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 105 

refinement, as she depicted, with unconscious grace and 
art, the life of a gentlewoman of her own age and class — 
she was young and fair and keenly sympathetic — on a 
Southern plantation before the Civil War. One got such 
a new impression of those whom, under other skies and in 
large ignorance of their personal ministries or sacrifices, 
we have been wont to picture as indolent, exclusive, indif- 
ferent to the sorrow and disease and ignorance that, on 
a great rice or cotton or sugar plantation in the old days, 
were all about them; and one learned, with a new sense of 
reverence for all that is best in womanhood, how, in days 
that are now gone forever, there were under such condi- 
tions the most skillful beneficence and the most untiring 
sympathies. But, in the times of which I speak, the service 
on the plantation for the sick slave (which, an ungracious 
criticism might have suggested, since a slave was ordi- 
narily a valuable piece of property, had something of a 
sordid element in it) was matched in communities and 
under conditions where no such suspicion was possible. 
No one who knows anything of life in our smaller commu- 
nities at the beginning of the century can be ignorant of 
what I mean. There was no village or smallest aggrega- 
tion of families that had not its Abigail, its 'Aunt Han- 
nah,' its 'Uncle Ben,' who, when there was sickness or 
want or sorrow in a neighbor's house, was always on hand 
to sympathize and to succor."^ 

The slaves were acquainted with the diseases of hogs, 
cattle, and all domestic animals. In fact, the best veter- 
inarians of ante-bellum days were slaves, and much of the 
modern science is indebted to them. Every farm had its 
negro chaplain (negro preacher), who was only second to 
the master, the spiritual adviser of all. The Richmond 
Times of October 26, 1899, says: 

''A few months ago an old negro down South was: 

iPopular Science Monthly, October, 1899. 



106 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

arraigned in court on the charge of criminal assault. He 
had no evidence to offer in support of his innocence, 
except his previously good character. He introduced the 
white men of the community to the court and called upon 
them to give evidence as to his standing. They all cheer- 
fully stood up and told the court, under oath, that, so far 
as they knew to the contrary, he had led an exemplary 
life. The Commonwealth's attorney refused to prosecute. 
The case was dismissed, and the judge, from the bench, 
complimented the old man on the high character that he 
had proved. 'Yes,' said the old man, through his tears, 
'and I got that character from my old marster, who 
showed me the right way.' " The more intelligent negroes 
also acted as advocates before the tribunal presided over 
by the master. 

Consequently there was a division of labor under the 
slave regime exceeding that of any farm of the present 
day, which made it possible to assign each set of hands 
their duty and to dispense with the cruelties which have 
been mistakenly attributed to the slave sj'stem employed 
in the production of large tobacco and cotton crops. There 
were valuable cotton and tobacco farms, but none of 
them were very extensive, and no one owned more than 
seventy-five or eighty slaves, the average number owned 
by a family being live or six. No overseer was needed, 
and when employed he occupied the position of general 
director and not of arbitrary lord and master. He was 
responsible to the owner of the slaves, but the negro 
foreman also exercised authority and reported irregulari- 
ties to his master. Thus the former v»^as restrained by 
fear of losing his position. But the general custom was 
for each master to manage for himself, and place a fore- 
man in the person of one of their own number over each 
squad of slaves assigned to a special duty. This system 
dispensed more or' less with that class of "poor whites'' 
which has so often been depicted as the evil of slavery. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 107 

They did not consider it a disgrace to work side by side 
with the slaves, since tliey did not have the legal equality 
■of the negro continually thrust at them. 

With the consciousness of being able to rise to the posi- 
tion of foreman, each slave was incited to interest in his 
work. He realized that his master's interest was his. The 
hog feeder was proud to exhibit his drove of hogs, the 
herdsman and shepherd pointed to their flocks with pride, 
and the hostler boasted of the fastest and best bred horses 
on the road. The old ''stiller" smiled when his brandy 
was praised, and the cook was aware of her superiority. 
The old nurse was conscious of her power and the love 
and respect of all the whites. Each department had its 
negro foreman and his or her associates, the former a 
master in his profession, instructing the latter in the 
mysteries thereof. By means of this class system among 
the slaves, the barriers of which could be overcome by 
diligence and respect, they were controlled with ease and 
inspired with ambition far surpassing that of the negro 
of today, who is conscious of his inability to attain the 
boasted equality with whites, and consequently meditates 
revenge and cherishes hatred. 

Fealty and diligence were also encouraged by confi- 
dence on ithe part of the master, who rewarded his serv- 
ants with crops, gardens, and other property, the proceeds 
from which were spent at their discretion. Slaves were 
often allowed to choose their own employer and make 
their own contracts.^ Holidays were frequent. From 
sunrise to sunset was the time for labor, but breakfast 
and dinner, in the meantime, occupied at least three 
hours. This limit Was not strictly insisted on, as is shown 
by the reply of an old negro, who, when asked by his mis- 
tress why he was sitting on the fence while the sun was 
still above the horizon, replied: "Waitin" for de sun to 

1 Journals of Virginia Legislature: Page, Social Life in Virginia. 



108 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

go down, mum." Saturday was a holiday for the deserv- 
ing, and Sunday was spent as the slave liked. If he was 
not promptly on hand Monday morning he was not pun- 
ished.^ 

The emancipation sentiment in Southampton was very 
strong, and it was fostered by the numerous Quakers of 
the county. In the county records are to be found num- 
bers of emancipation deeds. Thus the slaves were encour- 
aged by the possibility of freedom. The free negroes 
were prosperous and many owned land and were em- 
ployed by the whites as any other laborers. They were 
also assisted in their efforts, if they wished, to emigrate 
to Liberia.''' They increased rapidly, and from a propor- 
tion of less than one to ten in 1790 the ratio of free 
negroes to slaves had decreased to an average of one to 
every four and a third in 1830.^ The county had a greater 
proportion of free negroes than any of the neighboring 
counties except Nansemond and Isle of Wight. The 
whites had, in the meantime, remained about the same, 

lAn old negro who knew Na't Turner said the latter could go 
awaj' on Sunday, and if he did not return until Monday morning 
nothing was said to him. This, he continued, was the case with 
all the faithful slaves before the insurrection, but afterward if 
one did not return in time, "dis here thing was tuck off, an' de 
back picked jest like a chicken pickin' corn." 

^Hou. Anthony W. Gardner, born January 24, 1824, of free 
parents, in Southampton county, emigrated with them to Liberia 
in January, 1S31, and in 1879 was elected president of the colony. 
His inaugural address was eloquent and able, and he rendered 
A'^aluable service to his country. — Sixty -second Report of the Amer- 
ican Colonization Society. 

sTable showing the population of Southampton for each decade 
from 1790 to 1830: 

All other 

Year. Whites. free persons. Slaves. Total. 

1790 (;.812 5.^9 5,993 12.864 

1800 6,461 839 6,625 13,925 

]810 5.982 1,109 6,406 13,497 

1820 6,127 1,300 6,737 14,170 

1830 G,573 1,745 7,756 16,074 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 109 

while the free blacks increased on an average of thirty 
and the slaves on one of forty-four per year during the 
forty years from 1790 to 1830.^ 

The slaves were cared for with the greatest kindness.^ 
The white master did not treat his slave as his ox. Slavery 
was simply domestic servitude, under practically efficient 
guarantees against ill-treatment. The system was more 
on the order of that in the Mosaic law, where the slave 
was a member of the family, and to insult or maltreat a 
slave was an insult which had to be atoned for upon the 
field of honor. The slave quarters formed a long street 
in the rear of the dwelling of the master, resembling a 
mediaeval village community, and during the cold winter 
nights the last duty of the master before retiring was to 
visit these quarters to see that the children were well 
provided with food, covering, and fuel. In many respects 
the slave fared better than the master.'' There was an 

iTable showing population of counties contiguous to South- 
ampton: 

County. Whites. Slaves. Free blacks 

Greenes ville 2,104 4,681 332 

Isle of Wight 7,023 4,272 1,222 

Nansemond 5,143 4,943 1,698 

Surry 2,865 3,377 866 

Sussex 4,118 7,736 866 

The populations of the neighboring counties of North Carolina 
were as follows: Bertie, 12,276; Gates, 7,866; Hertford, 8,541; 
Northampton, 13,103, of whom about one-half were blacks, and 
. a large proportion of the latter were free. 

2lt was from this direction that the evil came, and not from 
bad treatment, and the South now thanks the God of Battle for 
the freedom of the slaves. 

3They had no responsibility and never suffered for food or cloth- 
ing. The general consensus of opinion among the old slaves is 
that they fared better as slaves than at the present time. This 
want of responsibility explains the more rapid increase of the 
negroes as slaves than as free citizens. This also accounts for the 
fact that pulmonary diseases were almost unheard of among the 
slaves. The want of such care at the present day in turn explains 
the great prevalence of the disease, among the negroes of the 
present day. 



110 THE SOUTHAINIPTON INSURRECTION. 

attachment between the blacks and whites which is diffi- 
cult to describe, and which was exhibited until within a 
few years past, when the population of Southampton was 
contaminated by the influx. of foreigners employed in saw- 
mills and railroad work/ Both races were benefited and 
a noble people developed, the native blacks being the 
equals of any of their race.- Gentle treatment rendered 
the slave not only more faithful and affectionate, but 
more intelligent, and his condition, in fact, approximated 
that of a free servant. Slaves were the happiest laboring- 
class in the world, and under these most favorable condi- 
tions furnished a contradiction of the '^orthodox'' eco- 
nomic theory as to the unproductiveness of slave labor." 
The oldest inhabitants of the count}^ state that South- 
ampton saw its most prosperous and progressive days 
between 1830 and 1861, notwithstanding the fact that 
tobacco and cotton had declined, and the most severe 

iThis spirit was not even lessened by the horrors of the Nat 
Turner insurrection. Gilbert, who belonged to Ma.ior Thomas 
Pretlow, one of the justices who sat on the trial of Nat, was 
given the privilege of being free by Mrs. Pretlow, but he de- 
clared he would never leave* the family, and died a member of it. 
During the war Federal forces visited the neigbboring counties, 
but very few of the negroes of Southampton ran away, and those 
who escaped did so through the persuasion of the scouts roaming 
the country. 

2The superiority and more refined feelings of the uegro of 
Southampton and the foreign influences are illustrated by the fol- 
lowing. One of them expressed his horror and disgust at the 
terrible butchery committed by Nat and his band at Mr. Wal- 
ler's, and said it was an outrage. A negro who was on a visit 
to the county for the purpose of learning more about the insur- 
rection was incensed at this remark and replied that it was the 
desert of the Avhites and that the insurrection was not cruel 
enough. This incident occurred only a few years ago. 

3lt did away with idleness arid improved not only the condition 
of the people in general, but the products of labor were greater. 
For instance, the hog and chicken cbolera, now so prevalent in 
the county, were comparatively tmknown. Their prevalence now, , 
no doubt, is due to the half-fed dogs, hogs, etc., which roam the 
counti'v and which then did not exist. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. Ill 

panic in the history of the United States occurred in 1837 
and 1841.^ The condition of the Southern States is much 
improved since 1865. This is partly the effect of the gen- 
eral advance of civilization, and cannot be entirely attrib- 
uted to the abolition of slavery. Besides, the greatest 
advance is seen in the cities, while in the rural districts, 
where the greatest number of slaves were owned, the 
condition of agriculture is very little improved, and in 
some sections is on a decline. The system of labor seems 
to have been an ideal one. 

Previous to 1831 there had been only three negroes 
executed and four transported for crimes in Southampton, 
and the neighboring counties had equally as good records. 
Isle of Wight had one executed; Nansemond transported 
one and executed three before and executed one for con- 
spiracy and rebellion in 1831, though thirty or forty were 
tried; Surry executed one and transported one before and 
transported one in that year for participation in the 
Southampton insurrection; Sussex had one executed and 
three transported before, and four executed and two 
transported in 1831 for suspicious connection with the 
same plot; Greenesville had none executed and none 
transported before or during 1831. The only case of dis- 
content among the slaves on record in Southampton pre- 
vious to the Nat Turner insurrection was in October, 1790, 
and that was participated in by only four negroes, who 
had been smuggled from Maryland. There had been sus- 
picions of rebellions in other sections, but the fidelity of 
the slaves here had never been doubted. Nat had acted 
fanatically and Nelson Williams had actually said that 
there was going to be trouble, but no one could conceive 

1 "Tobacco has fallen beyond all calculation. Cotton Is down 
from seventeen to ten cents per pound. Instead of exporting any 
breadstuffs. we have been compelled by the scarcity of our har- 
vests to draw upon the granaries of Europe." — Richmond En- 
quirer (Niles, L.II, p. 131). 



112 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

of the dislo^-alty of the negroes. A citizen of the county, 
living near Jerusalem at the time of the insurrection, 
says: "Southampton is a pretty large county. Whether 
(.here were premonitions of coming events in the neighbor- 
hood of Cross Keys, where the movement occurred, I 
Icnow not. I think it came upon the people suddenly and 
without warning. In our section of the county nothing 
ever happened to forecast such an event. We had no 
reason to suspect the loyalty of the negroes. I recollect 
that Capt. Billy Kitchen, one of our neighbors, had quite 
a number of slaves. One of his slaves had for a wife our 
cook. On hearing of the insurrection, he took his family 
into a piece of woodland, cut down trees, erected barriers, 
something in the shape of fortifications, armed his slaves 
with axes, hoes, pikes, and anything at hand, and, having 
full faith in their loj^alty and devotion, he left to join the 
' main body in pursuit of the revolutionists."^ The words 
of Mr. Gray well described the condition of the county 
at the time, the nature of the plot, and its murderous 
execution: *'It will thus," he says, "appear that whilst 
upon the surface society wore a calm and peaceful aspect; 
whilst not one note of preparation was heard to warn the 
devoted inhabitants of woe and death, a gloomy fanatic 
was revolving in the recesses of his own dark, bewildered, 
and overwrought mind schemes of indiscriminate massa- 
cre of the whites — schemes too fearfully executed as far 
as his fiendish band proceeded in their desolating march. 
No cry for mercy penetrated their flinty bosoms. No acts 

iSuch cases of confidence were shown on all sides. Mr. Jolin 
Ivey, who lived near Haley's Bridge, about ten miles from Cross 
Keys, left his plantation in charge of his slaves. One of the ne- 
groes caught a horse and started to join the insurgents. But the 
other slaves caught him and delivered him to their leader, "old 
John," who gave him a thorough thrashing and chained him until 
his master returned. This was the case, though Mr. Ivey told 
John that he might have all the farm and property if he did not 
return. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 113 

■of remembered kindness made the least impression upon 
the remorseless murderers. Men, women, and children, 
from hoary age to helpless infancy, were involved in the 
same cruel fate. Never did a band of savages do their 
work of death more unspa)ringl3^ Apprehension of their 
own personal safety seems to have been the only principle 
of restraint in the whole course of their bloody pro- 
ceedings." 

CAUSES OF THE mSURRECTION.— Such was the 
state of society in which was reared Nat Turner. He was 
endowed with a natural intelligence and quickness pos- 
sessed by few men, with a mind capable of high attain- 
ments, but warped and perverted by the influence of early 
as well as later impressions. His case should be an im- 
portant and useful lesson in the experience of a mind like 
his endeavoring to grapple with things beyond its reach. 
He was a careful student of the Bible, a Baptist preacher, 
read the newspapers and every book within his reach, 
and listened attentively to the discussions of political 
and social questions by the best and most enlightened 
men of the country. His sphere of action was too small 
for such a mind, and, consequently, he deemed it possible 
to conquer the county, march to the Dismal Swamp, col- 
lecting the slaves as he went, and so gradually overcome 
the State, as the Americans had the British in the Revo- 
lutionary War, all to "call the attention of the civilized 
world to the condition of his race." After his failure he 
confessed that he had been mistaken in the practicability 
of his-3cheme, frustrated both by the ready assembling 
of the whites and the want of discipline among his men. 

Cruel treatment was not a motive for the rebellion. If 
this had been the case, it would have been urged in miti- 
gation of Nat's punishment. On the contrary, he stated 
in his testimony that he had no reason to complain of Mr. 
Travis, who was a kind master, and placed the greatest 



114 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

confidence in him.^ Nat was a complete fanatic, and 
believed the Lord had destined him to free his race. The 
red tint of the autumn leaves was a sign of the blood 
which was to be shed.^ And his last text at Barnes' 
Church, a few days before the massacre, indicates the 
trend of his mind. It reads: "And I saw, and behold a 
white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a 
crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering 
and to conquer.'"^ Though Nat was a religious fanatic, 
yet he deemed am- means justifiable for the accomplish- 
ment of his purpose and for making the impression that 
he waiS a prophet and servant of God. He wrote hiero- 
glyphics and quotations on leaves and blades of fodder, 
and these found, according to his prediction, caused the 
slaves to believe him a miraculous being, endowed witli 
supernatural powers. He spat blood at pleasure, but it 
proved to be the coloring matter of the log-wood, stolen 
from his master's dye pots. At his baptism crowds gath- 
ered, some from curiosity and others from a belief in his 
prophecy that a white dove would descend from heaven 
and alight upon his shoulder. This prophecy explains the 
reviling to which he refers in his confession, no doubt, 
with the intention of making the impression that the 
white people disapproved of religious toleration. That 
Nat was believed must not be taken as proof of the igno- 
i-ance and exclusive superstition of the blacks. It is the 
custom to consider the whites as far advanced as they are 
at present, and the slaves as debased, ignorant, and super- 
stitious creatures as in their native state. But the eclipse 
of the sun in February, and its peculiar appearance in 

3 He told Mrs. Mnsgrave. who had beeu confined to her bed on 
account of the great excitement, that to kill his master's family 
was the most difficult task he ever had to perform. 

2He told Mrs. In'rancis, the mother of Mrs. Travis, and Mr. 
Salathiel Francis, that he killed her children because the Lord 
had commanded him. 

^Revelations, vi, 2. - 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 115 

August, 1831. had as grave an effect upon tlie former as 
upon the latter. The ''green" or "blue" day is still re- 
membered by some of our citizens, and at the time some- 
thing terrible was hourly expected.^ Upon the scaffold 
Nat declared that after his execution it would grow dark 
and rain for the last time. It did actually rain, and there 
was for some time a dry spell. This alarmed many of the 
whites as well as the negroes. Conjuring was the South- 
ern counterpart of the old Puritan belief in witchcraft. 
It is generally attributed to the negroes, some of whom 
professed to be "conjur doctors,"^ but many a gouty 
master believed himself conjured. Nor are such signs of 
superstition and fear wanting at the present day. The 
negroes are still afraid to pass graveyards and places 
where murders have been committed, and see the wrath 
of God in every unusual occurrence. 

Thus the insurrection "was not instigated by motives of 
revenge or sudden anger, but the result of long delibera- 
tion and a settled purpose of mind, the offspring of 
gloomy fanaticism acting upon materials but too well 
prepared for such impressions," and of love of self-impor- 
tance, encouraged by the efforts of negro preachers, who 
were influenced by external affairs, and employed in circu- 
lating inflammatory and seditious periodicals.' Those 

i.Iuditli, Marion Harland, p. 61 et seq.; Forest, "Norfolk and 
Vicinity," pp. 192-193. 

'-^Some of these abuse the confidence imposed in them and fright- 
en some of their weaker bretliren by tlireats and gi'eat preten- 
sions. 

3The Norfolk Herald, of August 29, 1831: "We have just re- 
ceived letters from Winton and Murfreesboro, N. o. * * * Our 
Winton friend say«: * * * 'It seems that the whole affair 
was arranged by negro preachers who were suiTered to hold their 
meetings at pleasure, by day and by night, and it seems those 
.scoundrels have poisoned the minds of the negroes.' " The negro 
who was taken for Nat in Botetourt county was a negro preacher, 
as was also the negro condemned in Nansemond county for signi- 
fying his intention to join a conspiracy against the whites at the 
solicitation of a negro preacher from Isle of Wight. 



116 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

who have received most are the most jealous and ready 
to complain. Nat Turner, as the Southampton slaves in 
general, was like a spoiled child, who, having been 
allowed too many privileges in youth, soon thinks he 
ought to be master of all he surveys. The calling of a 
Constitutional Convention, to meet in October, 1829, 
Inspired in the slaves of Matthews, Isle of Wight, and the 
neighboring counties hopes of emancipation, and in case 
of failure of such declaration a determination to rebel and 
massacre the whites. Doubtless Nat had heard the same 
subjects discussed, and, being conscious of the results of 
the convention, which not only failed to emancipate the 
slaves, but limited the right of suffrage to the whites, he 
con,sidered it time to carry out his threats.^ He was 
undoubtedly inspired with the hope of freedom, and the 
mere discussion of emancipation by a convention may 
have led him to believe that many of the whites would 
sympathiize with his schemes. He is said to have passed 
the home of some poor white people because he consid- 
ered it useless to kill those who thought no better of 
themselves than the}' did of the negroes. He also said 
that after he had gained a firm foothold he intended to 
spare all the women and children and the men who 
offered no resistance. But the watchword of all was 
indiscriminaife slaughter and plunder. 

Nat was certainly no coward, and would never have 
surrendered to Phipps, except that he saw no chance of 
<?scape, and thus believed it better to surrender and trust 
to fortune. Hark was also brave, but not one of the 
others could claim this quality or that of religious fanat- 

ilu a pamphlet publisihed in 1830 by a negro of Boston this con- 
vention is spoken of. The authox* refers to the "Great, happy, 
and eloquent harangues" of .John Randolph, in which he claims 
Ohio as a slave State, and accuses the "Honorable Slaveholder" of 
deceiving the ignorant. — Walker's Appeal, p. 77. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. llf 

icism.^ Nat, when he was asked what he had done with 
all the money taken, said he had received only four and 
six pence (75 cents), and, turning to a free negro, who was 
also a prisoner, declared, "You know money was not my 
object." Still, each negro meditated returning within a 
few days to take possession of his master's home.- Thus 
the houses and barns were not burned, nor the furniture 
damaged, except so far as to enable them to procure the 
valuables therein, though victims were robbed of their 
clothes, jewelry, and other valuables. 

Some say that victims were murdered and no further 
outrages committed, and the fact has been attributed to 
"the very success of their hideous enterprise,"^ but this is 
an error.* Women were insulted, and it is said that Nat 
offered protection to one beautiful girl if she would con- 
sent to be his wife, but death was to this noble woman a 
blessing in comparison with such a" prospect. Bodies 
were chopped to pieces and tortured to death, and chil- 

iThe Richmond Enquirer, of August 26, 1831, says: "It is 
supposed most of these marauders and murderers were runaway 
negroes, who had broken in on the whites for robbing and other 
mischief. There is no appearance of concei't .among the slaves, 
nothing that can deserve tiie name of insurrection, which it was 
originally denominated." 

2Some actually did this. Mr. Collin Kitchen, when he re- 
turned home after the insurrection had been suppressed, found 
one of his servants dressed in his wife's clothes, entertaining one 
of her friends. She had taken possession of the farm and was 
eating at his table and sleeping in his bed. 

"Howison's History of Virginia^ 

^Governor Floyd, in his message calling the attention of the 
Legislature of 1831-32 to the necessity of immediate legislation 
on the subject of slavery, said: "Whilst we were enjoying the 
abundance of last season, rejoicing in the peace and quiet of do- 
mestic comfort and safety, we were suddenly aroused from that 
serenity by receiving information that a portion of our fellow- 
citizens had fallen victims to the x'elentless fury of assassins and 
murderers, even whilst wrapped in profound sleep, and that these 
deeds had been perpetrated in a spirit of cruelty unknown to 
savage warfare, even in their most revolting form." 



118 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

dren had their brains knocked out.^ The Enquirer of 
August 30th, says: "What strikes us as the most remark- 
able thing in this matter is the horrible ferocity of those 
monsters. They remind one of a parcel of blood-thirsty 
wolves making down from the Alps, or, rather, like a 
former incursion of the Indians upon the white settle- 
ments."^ All along the route lay the murdered victims, so 
mangled by the murderers and disfigured by hogs as to be 
unrecognizable even ito their friends. Nor did those 
negroes escape who refused to participate in the massacre. 
One of the slaves of Mr. Nat Francis, who was milking 
when the insurgents arrived, had his heel-strings cut 
because he refused to join them. Such were the horrors 
and depredations that they have been handed dov^^n to 
our own time. As wrote a citizen of 1831, "Many a 
mother, as she presses her infant darling to her bosom, 
will shudder at the recollection of Na,t Turner and his 
ferocious band of miscreants." 

The influence of the French refugees still lingers in 
some of the customs and habits of the people of Baltimore, 
Norfolk, Charleston, and New Orleans, and for years after 
the San Domingo rebellion negroes were heard to refer 
to those scenes. No foreign event ever created a greater 
impression on the Southern portion of the United States, 

lA wi-iter to the Beacon says: "That part of the county which 
we have passed through is comparatively deserted. We saw 
several children whose brains were knocked out, and have ac- 
counts of the murder of sixty-eight men, women and children. 
Several reported to have been killed were found hid in the 
woods, but more than fifty-five, as commonly believed, were 
killed." 

2The Norfolk Hei-ald, of August 26, contains the following: 
"Indeed, nothing is known with certainly, but the painful fact 
tliat fifty-eight persons have been massacred. All accounts, how- 
ever, concur in representing the affair as one which originated 
with a few without any concert, or understanding, even, with the 
slaves of their own county. * * * The number that com- 
menced the bloody worlc was only seven — three white men and 
four blacks— mere marauders bent on plunder; but having steeped 
their hands in human sacrifice became infuriated and like blood- 
hounds pursued their game of murder in mere wanton sport." 



THE SOUTHAINIPTON INSURRECTION. 119 

'Contiguous to whose shores lay this island, calling atten- 
tion to t^e fact that such a catastrophe was possible in 
the United States so soon as the slaves increased in the 
same proportion.^ This fact had much influence upon 

iBut the influence of the French Revolution and, through it, of 
the San Domingo rebellion, was realized before such an increase 
of the slave population. The negroes of Louisiana rose in re- 
bellion, and but for disagreement among themselves would have 
murdered many of tlie inhabitants of this province. Mr. Charles 
Guan-e, who was later elected to a seat in the United States Sen- 
ate but resigned, in his "Bssai Historique sur la Louisiane," says: 
"The white population of Louisiana was not the only population 
which was agitated by the French Revolution. The blaclis, en- 
couraged without doubt with the success their race had obtained 
in San Domingo, dreamed of liberty and sought to shake off the 
joke. The insurrection was planned at Pointe Coupee, which 
was then an isolated parish and in which tlie num'ber of slaves 
was considerable. The conspiracy took birth on the plantation of 
Mr. Jullen Poydras, a rich planter, who was then traveling in 
the United States, and spread rapidly througli the parish. The 
death of all the whites was resolved. Happily, the conspirators 
could not agree upon the day for the massacre, and from this 
disagreement resulted a quarrel, which led to the discovery of the 
plot. The militia of the parish immediately toolc arms, and the 
Baron de Caropdelet caused them to be supported by the troops 
of the line. It was resolved to arrest and punish the principal 
conspirators. The slaves opposed it; but they were quickly dis- 
persed, with the loss of twenty of tlieir number killed on the spot. 
Fifty of the insurgents were condemned to death, sixteen were 
executed in difl'erent parts of the parish; the rest were put on 
l)oard a galley and hung at intervals all along the river as far as 
New Orleans (a distance of one hundred and fifty miles). The 
severity of the chastisement intimidated the blacks, and all re- 
tired to perfect order." Mr. Benton said in the United States 
Senate in 1835 that the effect of the Society in Paris — "Les Amis 
des Noirs" — upon the French island was known to the world, "but 
what is not known to the world, or not sufficiently known to it. is 
that the same societies which wrapped in flame and drenched In 
blood the beautiful island, which w^as then a garden and is now 
a wilderness, were the means of exciting an insurrection on our 
continent — in Louisiana, where a French slave population ex- 
isted and where tlie language of Les Amis des Noirs could be 
understood, and where their emissaries could go. The knowledge 
of this event ought to be better known, both to show the dangers 
of rli?se societies, howevoi* nisMnt. and thoagn oceais ni.-iy loll 
between them and their victims, and the fate of the slaves who 
may be excited to insurrection by them on any part of the Ameri- 
can Continent."— Thirtv Years in the United States Senate, vol. 
I., p. 578. 



120 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

Southern legislation and was the cause of the compara- 
tively slow increase of slaves, especially in the older slave 
States. Mr, Brackett^ says: "In the summer of 1793 
there arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, some twelve hun- 
dred refugees from San Domingo, flying from the horrors 
of servile insurrection. They brought half as many slaves 
with them. They were, reported a committee in the 
Assembly, in a state of distress which exceeded descrip- 
tion. The Assembly appropriated five hundred dollars 
weekly for two months, and thousands of dollars were 
raised for them throughout the State. The horrors of 
this insurrection had not been forgotten, when, in the 
autumn of 1831, there came the report of the revolt of 
the slaves in Southampton county, Virginia." Similar 
reports of distress were made to several of the Legisla- 
tures of the Southern States, and in response to petitions 
from these distressed people liberal appropriations were 
made by the liCgislatures, as well as by private persons. 
The result was soon seen in Virginia. In 1793 the slaves 
of Northampton and other sections of Eastern Virginia 
.showed signs of discontent. The Gabriel Prosser insur- 
rection, which occurred in Richmond in 1800, was due to 
French statements that the scenes of St. Domingo might 
be even more successfully executed in Virginia. Gabriel 
Prosser's example did much to keep alive the recollections 
of St. Domingo, and in 1801 and succeeding years rebel- 
lious slaves in various sections of Virginia confessed that 
they had been inspired by hopes that Gabriel's plans and 
those of the negroes of Hayti might be successfully re- 
peated. This was especially the case immediately preced- 
ing and during the war of 1812; when the possibility of 
English assistance rendered a servile insurrection moi'e 
certain of success. 

iThe Negro in Maryland, p. 96. 



THE S0UTHA3IPT0N INSURRECTION. 121 

Through these recorded facts, the other attempts at 
servile insurrection, and the traditions of the refugees, 
the recollections of St. Domingo were still vivid in 1831.^ 
It is probable that the negroes who murdered their 
masters in Southampton in 1799 circulated reports of this 
catastrophe. From the investigation of the Governor of 
Virginia it was found that they had traveled to and from 
many of the seaports and had ample means of communi- 
cation with the cooks and other servants of the vessels 
plying between the United States and the West Indies, 
and of conversing with the slaves forced aboard ves- 
sels by the French refugees. The shrewdness, device, and 
wickedness of these negroes also seem to indicate the 
truth of this statement. The abolition papers, too, kept 
these scenes before the public, and pictured the leaders as 
heroes.^ The "Genius of Universal Emancipation," edited 
by Benjamin Lundy, of Baltimore, gave a detailed history 
of such affairs in successive numbers in 1828. There was, 
however, a more direct source. Some of these refugees 
from St. Domingo settled in Southampton, having 
brought their negroes with them. Nat being a preacher, 
freely passing from one section of the country to another, 
very probably had his dreams fired by the recitals of 

iln the legislatures, as well as in the foreign correspondence 
of the United States and petitions to Congress, references were 
continually made to the Republic of Hayti. This was especially 
the case in the debates in the Cabinet and Congress in regard to 
Cuba. The Journals of the Virginia House of Delegates and Sen- 
ate of 1792, 1804, and 1831-32. Callahan, "Cuba and Anglo- 
American Relations." 

2A pamphlet which appeared in 1830 urges the negroes to re- 
member Carthage and Hayti and the manner in which they were 
oppressed by the whites. After declaring American slavery more 
cruel and vile than that of Greece or Rome, the author says, 
"But why need I to refer to antiquity, when Hayti, the glory 
of the blacks and the terror of tyrants, is enough to convince 
the most avaricious and stupid of wretches."— Walker's Appeal. 



122 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

events occurring in their former homes. A gentleman,^ 
who distinctly' remembers the execution of seven of the 
leaders of Nait's band, says: *'I have no recollection of 
Philip, who came from St. Domingo with my father. From 
tradition I know him well. Whether he saved my father's 
life or not is not know^n to me. I think it likely it was so. 
I do not recollect having heard in the family that it w^as 
so. He seems to have had some disagreement with his 
wife, became discontented, and left the farm. My father 
supposed he went to Norfolk and thence made his way to 
St. Domingo. He never heard from him. It is more than 
likely that Philip may have had communication with 
some of those who were ringleaders in the drama — and a 
bloody one it was — >that occurred in our county in 1831. 
* * * Now, what gave rise to this insurrectionary move- 
ment, to what extent it may have been influenced by the 
St. Domingo affairs, whether Philip's recital of events 
there may have entered as elements in these commotions, 
1 do not know\ I think it likely Nat Turner knew all 
about them, and think it not unlikely he obtained them 
from Philip." Another citizen writes: "Denegre came 
to Southampton from the Island of St. Domingo, making 
his escape in a small boat, with the assistance of a faithful 
negro servant, who informed him of the attempted upris- 
ing of the negroes. Mr. Denegre, as soon as he landed in 
the United States, gave this man his freedom, who 
remained wdth him some twenty years, and then went 
back to his old home, the island, and wrote back he had 

iW. O. Deneg-re (born 1825, left Southampton in 1840), St. 
Paul, Minn., son of Jolin Denegre, wlio settled in Southampton 
in 1793. Mr. John Denegre married a Miss Cobb, a near relative 
of the chief magistrate who presided at the trial of Nat Turner. 
He was a merchant at Vicksville, and, in the words of a citizen 
of the county, "represented the county in the Legislature when 
it was an honor and none but the most prominent men could 
be elected." 



THE SOUTHjOiIPTON INSURRECTION. 123 

returned."' These letters also illustrate the ease of com- 
munication between slaves of the United States and the 
people of the West Indies by means of the negroes and 
corrupt whites of the vessels plying between the two 
countries. There were at this time, and had been for 
some years, organizations for revolutions in Cuba and 
other West Indian Islands for the purpose of freeing the 
slaves. In 1822 the negroes of Charleston, South Carolina, 
were detected in active communication with St. Domingo, 
and in 1829 there was an insurrection in Antigua. Again 
in 1830 these influences were seen in an armed attempt at 
insurrection in South Carolina, which, however, was local 
and soon put down. 

The state of affairs in South America and the neighbor- 
ing islands was not such as to inspire tranquillity and con- 
tentment among the slaves of the United States. ''By 
1829 all the South American provinces," said Metternich, 
"•'had gone the way of the flesh."^ Peru was the last to go, 
and Spain was driven to the islands. The example of the 
United States had been a powerful incentive in the asser- 
tion of their independence, and she served their cause by 
her neutrality. The Southern States considered it a 
means of gradually driving slavery from their borders. 
But when these provinces established independent gov- 
ernments, "ideas of the equality of man had spread so 
rapidly, especially through the influence of England, who 
felt compelled to make retribution to the negro for the 
sins of slavery which she had inflicted upon all of her 
colonies, that thej^ each separately declared the slaves 
free, and by 1830 there was no slavery from Mexico to 
Gape Horn, except in Brazil." The presence of free 

lOaptain W. H. Hood, Henderson, North Carolina. He married 
the granddaughter of Mr. John Denegi-e. 

2Autobiograt)hy of Metternich, vol. IV. p. 165, et seq. I am 
indebted to Dr. .J. M. Callahan for verifying numerous references 
in this section on the foreign relations of the United States. 



124: THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

negroes so near the borders of the United States and the 
British possessions was an encouragement to rebellion on 
the part of the slaves, yet the United States, in 1822,^ and 
England, in 1825, were the first to acknowledge the inde- 
pendence of these States, since they found it practicable 
to emancipate their slaves and at the same time maintain 
independence without the protection of some other power. 
But the question of the independence of Cuba and the 
other West Indies was different. Their population was 
such that it was doubtful whether any of them could 
maintain their independence except under the protection 
of some other power. Consequently, England and the 
United States did not desire any extension of the princi- 
ples of emancipation, w^hich might endanger their slave- 
holding interests. The United States especially desired 
that no negro republics should be established near her 
shores, and on account of its political constitution she had 
refused to acknowledge the government of Hayti. Cuba's 
position made it a special object of concern both to the 
United States and England, neither of which desired to 
see it in the possession of any power save Spain. But so 
long as Cuba remained in the hands of Spain it was open 
to attacks from Mexico and Colombia, and if conquered 
by them there was danger of its becoming a bone of con- 
tention which would lead to war, during which some 
foreign power might claim the right to conquer it as well 
as the two contestants. For this reason England and the 
United States opposed the contemplated expedition of 
these two States under Santa Anna, which was intended 
to arouse the slaves of Cuba against Spain, who was 
zealously striving to subjugate them. Great Britain and 
the United States admitted that as belligerents Mexico 
and Colombia had a right to attack their enemies and cap- 

iRichardsou, Messages and Papers of the Presidents, vol. II, p. 
331 et seq. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 125 

ture their possessions, but addled that they ought to 
remember that this warfare might be very prejudicial to 
England and the United States by causing an insurrection 
of the blacks, and by the pretext which it opened to other 
nations to interfere in the affairs of Cuba, and perhaps to 
forcibly occupy the island. The extension of such a ser- 
vile war was especially threatening to the United States. 
The St. Domingo rebellion had been felt too sensibly to 
suppose that the blacks of Cuba would be restrained with 
less difficulty. For the mulattoes of the French and Span- 
ish colonies were far more numerous and intelligent than 
those of countries settled by Englishmen. Many of the 
Southern statesmen feared a Mexican invasion of Cuba 
more than any European possession of it. Mr. Hamilton, 
of South Carolina, said that a cession of Cuba to England 
could not be near so dangerous to the United States as 
the erection of a second Carthage or Hayti "to shadow 
our shores."^ 

Besides, there was danger of Spain's calling France to 
her aid in case of a panic as to the intentionis of the United 
States and England in regard to Cuba. Mr. Canning, 
therefore, proposed an alliance, hy which England, 
France, and the United States should each disclaim any 
intention of occupying Cuba, and should protest against 
such occupation by the others. Mr. King, United States 
Minister at London, however, thought the omission of any 
mention of Mexico and Colombia might cause an imme- 
diate invasion of Cuba and give rise to questions which 
would throw the whole West Indies into disorder and 
perhaps excite much anxiety in the Southern part of the 
United States, instead of leading to a suspension of hos- 
tilities on the part of Spain.^ France, too, refused to sign 

iCallahan, "Cuba and An^lo-AmeriCan Relations": J. Q. Adams' 
Memoirs; Debates in Congress; Government Documents; Col- 
lection of Correspondences in British and Foreign State Papers, 
vol. 26. 

2Thlrty-two Dispatches (Great Britain), August, 1825. 



126 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

the agreement, and Canning then proposed signing with 
the United States alone, but Mr. Clay, Secretary of State^, 
considered it no longer necessary and proper to consider 
the subject, and stated that after the friendly communi- 
cation between the British and American Governments, 
"each must now be considered as much bound to a course 
of forbearance and abstinence in regard to Cuba and 
Porto Rico as if they had pledged themselves to it by a 
solemn act." He also informed the French Government 
that he could not suppose any European power would 
attempt to occupy Cuba without the concurrence or 
knowledge of the United States. His policy was in accord 
with the "Monroe Doctrine," that America, having made 
herself free and independent, was not hereafter to be 
governed by any European power, and that any attempt 
at this would be regarded by the United States as dan- 
gerous to their own peace and safety. 

This sympathy with the colonies in revolt caused much 
friction with the Spanish authorities, who, from fear of 
his influencing revolts, refused to admit a Consul or agent 
from the United States to Cuba, though they were unable 
to protect American commerce against the pirates. This 
was a subject of much controversy in the Cabinet and 
Congress and with the public in general, and caused 
great hostility to Spain in America. Many advocated 
blockading Cuba and Porto Rico, and privateers were 
fitted out against the pirates, and, in some cases, very 
likely, became pirates themselves. Finally both England 
and the United States claimed and executed the right of 
pursuing the pirates, who had taken refuge on the coast 
of Cuba. Still, public sentiment was aroused and Cuba 
continued an uncertain prize. France, England, Colom- 
bia, and Mexico were only held off by fear of each other 
and of the United States. The latter, though appealed to 
for assistance by the inhabitants, used her influence to 
' prevent a change in the political condition of Cuba, and 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 127 

was determined that no nation should have it except 
Spain. For, under any other control, there would have 
been an attempt at independence and a probable slave 
insurrection. These dangers were the keys to much 
statecraft and diplomacy on the part of the United 
States.^ Spain continued to oppress Mexico and Colombia 
for the purpose of forcing England and America to guar- 
antee her the possession of Cuba, and even offered to 
receive a United States Consul at Havana on this condi- 
tion, but the United States Government, considering this 
too great a risk in proportion to the benefits derived, 
urged Russia to prevail upon Spain to make peace at once 
if she wished to retain Cuba and Porto Rico. The Mexi- 
can Minister at London advocated the propriety of making 
Cuba independent, under the guaranty of all the Ameri- 
can States and Great Britain. Mr. Gallatin wrote Mr. 
Clay that it was the only policy which could give a per- 
manent security to the United States, and told Mr. Can- 
ning that complications in Anglo-American relations 
might result from an Anglo-Spanish war, especially as to 
Cuba, which, it is understood, should not fall into the 
hands of either the United States or England. But the 
suggestion received no further consideration. 

The American policy toward the Panama Congress in 
1826 was largely connected with Cuba and slavery.^ An 
invasion of Cuba and Porto Rico was stated to be an 
object of the Congress. It was seen that such an invasion 
might lead to internal convulsions and a servile war 
which would endanger the institutions of the Southern 

iJ. Q. Adams' Memoirs; Monroe Papers; Jefferson Papers; 
Congressional Debates; British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 
26; Cuba and Anglo-American Relations; Select Documents of 
United States History, Macdonald; Messages and Papex's of the 
Presidents, vol. II. 

sCongressional Debates, March and April, 1826. 



128 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

States. President Adams^ favored sending delegates to 
Panama, as such a step might discourage any project to 
change the existing conditions in Cuba. The debate was 
warm in regard to sending delegates, but all parties 
agreed that they should interfere if any foreign power 
attempted to take territory contiguous to our shores. 
They thought that self-preservation compelled us to watch 
anxiously over Cuba. 

In 1829 England put on foot schemes to stir up revolu- 
tion in Cuba.- The Spanish Minister at London in June of 
that year informed his government that the British had 
sent a frigate to the Canaries with commissioners to inves- 
tigate what preparations were being made for an expedi- 
tion against the new Spanish-American States; that they 
also went to Havana, where they found many ready to 
revolt, and that they left emissaries in Cuba "to guide 
jjublic opinion,-' By this means England hoped to get 
possession of the island, either on mortgage for money 
loaned Spain or by an invitation for protection from the 
inhabitants of the island. This information caused much 
uneasiness in the United States, as the report was based 
on the authority of the Duke of Wellington, who advised 
a British officer to give immediate notice of any signs of 
disaffection in Cuba. But England was careful to frus- 
trate all attempts at seizure of the island by any other 
countr}'. During the year Bolivar had gathered ships and 
forces at Caracas for a contemplated invasion of Porto 
Rico, but Mr. Cockburn, the British Minister to Colombia, 
energetically discouraged such an attempt against any of 
the Spanish islands and frustrated the plans of Bolivar. 

The indemnity treaty which Spain made with Great 
Britain and France lessened the possibility of interference 

iMessages and Papers of tlie Presidents, vol! II, pp. 329, 356, 
385. 

233 Dispatches (Spain); 28 Dispatches (Spain); Everett to Clay, 
August 17, 1827. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 129 

m Spanish afifairs, but the United States Government did 
not consider that it entirely obviated the danger of an 
attempted occupation of Cuba. Thus the United States 
Minister at Madrid was instructed that, while it was not 
the American policy to give a direct promise to guarantee 
-Cuba to Spain, the United States would be ready to pre- 
A^ent any blow that might threaten Cuba, or any objec- 
tionable project which might affect the affairs of nations 
in American commerce. The unsuccessful expedition 
which Spain sent from Cuba against Mexico in 1828 was, 
however, a cause of some solicitude to the American Gov- 
ernment, and Secretary' Van Buren stated that, although 
the government had preserved Cuba to Spain when 
Mexico and Colombia were ready to strike a blow, and 
although the possession of Cuba by the new States might 
give England and France a chance to get it, yet the 
United States could hardly interfere with a defensive 
attack which Mexico or Colombia might think it to their 
interest to make, unless such attack should threaten to 
disturb the internal condition of the island, or result in 
measures w^hich would tend to incite the island to revolt. 
By 1830, when a second attack against Mexico was threat- 
ened by Spain, the English Government also ceased to 
offer any objection to a Mexican defensive expedition 
against Cuba. But by her weakened condition and by 
popular sentiment at home Spain was forced to discon- 
tinue her attempts for the reconquest of her former colo- 
nies on the American Continent. Threatened by revolu- 
tion within, she was unable to form any satisfactory for- 
eign relations, and in 1833, when her King died, the king- 
dom was in a precarious condition.^ Thus the interna- 
tional complications which might have arisen if Spain 
had been able to continue the war were avoided, and all 

114 Special Instructions; 12 United States Ministers' Instruc- 
tions; Richardson's Messages and Papers of ttie Presidents, vol. 11. 



130 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

the powers ''were content to see Cuba remain in the hands 
of a nation which had depleted its treasury in an unsuc- 
cessful attempt to retain half of the American Continent."^ 
But the controversy had produced everlasting effects. 
Questions had been aroused which could not fail to leave 
their impress upon the country, slave as well as freeman. 
All danger of foreign seizure of Cuba had disappeared, 
but the influence of her slave population was still great. 
North and South united to resist the establishment of 
negro republics near our shores; both saw the danger of 
a servile war extending to the United States from such a 
source, but both now rushed into heated disputes con- 
cerning the extension of slave territory. In 1827 the 
United States and Mexico were not on good terms.^ 
Poinset, the United States Minister to Mexico, was objec- 
tionable to her citizens and had to be recalled. The Mexi- 
cans claimed that they ought to make better terms wifcTi 
their kinsmen of the South American republics than with 
the United States. Texas was also a bone of contention. 
The United States had given up all claim to it in 1819. 
But slavery and the increasing cotton industry made 
Texas a desirable acquisition, especially to the slave 
States, who wished to maintain the balance of power. 
Negotiations for its purchase were made successively in 
1826,- 1829, 18^i0, and 1833. Mexico freed her slaves in 
1829, and the cotton crop of Texas made this institution 
especially desirable to the great numbers of Americans 
and Englishmen who had settled there. Consequently, 
they desired union with the United States. The hostility 
of the Indians to the United States on the Texas borders, 
as well as in the Northwest, favored this, and the pursuit 
of some of these by the United States troops into Mexican 
territory led the Mexican Government to think it a pre- 

iRicbardson's Messages and Papers of the Presidents, vol. II. 
sHurd, Law of Freedom and Bondage, p. 195. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRBCTION. 131 

tense for aiding the Texans in their revolts. The Texans 
took advantage of this difficulty and declared themselves 
independent of Mexico in 1833. The strife was severe, 
but the Texans were so far successful that the United 
States recognized the Republic of Texas in 1837, and the 
recognition by England and France followed in 1839. 
After much continued and heated controversy, this prov- 
ince was annexed to the United States.^ These difficulties, 
in which the Northern and Southern sections were so bit- 
terly opposed, could not fail to attract the attention of 
the negroes of the South and make the Southern people, 
in whose midst the evil existed, more determined to sup- 
press rebellion, and those more remote to discount its 
danger. 

Nothing better illustrates the insurrectionary influences 
brought to bear upon the slaves than the difficulties with 
the Indians of the South and West. On the 30th of 
March, 1802, in consideration of a cession of a portion of 
the Georgia territory, now owned by Alabama and Mis- 
sissippi, the United States agreed to remove the Indians 
from the limits of Georgia as soon as possible. Many 
treaties had been made and many millions of square 
miles of land purchased, but in 1824 the Creeks and Cher- 
okees refused to sell more. In February, 1825, a treaty 
was signed at Indian Springs by a few Creek chiefs with- 
out the authority of the nation, by which they agreed to 
cede to the United States all the Creek country in Georgia 
and a large part of that in Alabama. This treaty was 
supposed to have been the result of fraud on the part of 
both the chiefs and the two Georgia commissioners. But 
Monroe, being unable to hold it from the Senate, and no 
one there exposing its false character, it was ratified. The 
Indians rebelled, burnt houses, killed the signers of the 

1 Parliamentary Debates, May 20. 1830; J. Q. Adams' Mem- 
oirs, vol. II, p. 347; United States Ministers' Instructions (Mex- 
ico), vol. 15; Notes from Mexican Ministers, vol. 6. 



132 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

treaty, and sent representatives to Washington to pro- 
test. President Adams had just been inaugurated, and, 
concluding that the treaty was unfair, suspended all sum- 
mary proceedings for enforcing it. The State authorities, 
however, hastened to take possession of the land and to 
expel the Creeks in accordance with the terms of the 
treaty. General Gaines and his troops, who had been sent 
by the President to persuade the Indians to agree to the 
terms of the treaty, instead of gaining the expected advice 
and aid of the Governor and militia, fell into a dispute 
with the executive, who called upon the Legislature to 
"stand to your arms," and wrote to Mr. Barbour, Secre- 
tary of War, that ^'President Adams makes the Union 
tremble on a bauble." In a report to the Legislature it 
was urged that the time was rapidly approaching when 
the slave States "must confederate." These expressions 
evince the influence of the Indian controversy upon the 
institution of slavery. In compliance with the Governor's 
proclamation, the Legislature passed a law providing for 
the distribution of the lands, which were treated as sub- 
ject solely to State jurisdiction. President Adams 
informed Troup that surveys must stop until Congress 
settled the matter. The order was obeyed, but the Gov- 
ernor advised the Legislature that "between States 
equally independent it is not required of the weaker to 
yield to the stronger. * * * Between sovereignties 
the weaker is equally qualified to pass upon its rights." 

The Creeks refused to ratify the treaty in accordance 
with General Gaines' proposal, but sent other represent- 
atives to Washington, with whom, in January, 1826, 
Adams concluded a more favorable treaty. The Senate 
refusing to ratify it, further negotiations resulted in the 
entire cession and the withdrawal of the Creeks beyond 
the Mississippi. Again the State authorities began the 
distribution of land before the treaty was completed, and 
on February 17, 1827, Governor Troup was forced to call 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 133 

out the State militia to resist the United States troops. 
This ended the Georgia dispute for a time, as the Execu- 
tive did not have the support of Congress, which, on the 
contrary, sustained Troup. ^ 

The Cherokees were more civilized and better organ- 
ized, and they refused to surrender their lands. They 
were more like the whites, and had acquired considerable 
slave property. They, like the Creeks, enjoyed by treaty 
with the United States a tribal government, owing no 
allegiance to the State of Georgia, but, by continuous ces- 
sions, had reduced their settlements to a mountainous 
district, where they were governed by a few whites of 
Indian mixture. In 1825, however, they numbered fifteen 
thousand souls, inclusive of resident whites and slaves, 
and possessed a fertile district. Everything tended to fix 
them as a permanent body within the State. ''This very 
success proved an obstacle to their permanent stay in a 
white community, while preserving a race distinction." 
Such States as Maine and New York, which had a small 
tribal remnant to deal with, found it easy to exert white 
sway. The North had exterminated the Indians in the. 
various French and Indian wars, and by the time of our 
narrative had entirely recovered from the sufferings thus 
endured. At this earlier date the whites of the South 
were allied with the Indians in their neighborhood 
against the French. Consequently, the Indians, with 
their separate government, had increased and prospered 
and had become so numerous as to be a burden to the 
South, and to enlist in the maintenance of their rights 
many sentimental philanthropists, especially from those 
sections too distant to suffer from such disagreeable 
neighbors. But the whites in their immediate vicinity 

^Sehouler's History of the United States, wbicli gives ample 
references on the subject; J. Q. Adams' Memoirs, March, 1824; 
Hart's Formation of the Union, p. 255; Wilson's Division and 
Reunion, p. 36. 



134 THE SOUTHAItlPTON INSURRECTION. 

could not endure the equality of a race who were free 
from all service and allegiance and who were continually 
inciting the negroes to rebellion.^ 

Each successive Legislature of Georgia from 1826 
passed acts limiting the territory of the Cherokees, and 
that year declared Indian testimony invalid in Georgia 
courts. The Indians, foreseeing the storm, and warned 
by the trouble of the Creeks, made all of their land tribal 
propertj^, thinking thus more readily to secure the protec- 
tion of the Federal Government. But the Georgia Legis- 
lature annexed a portion of it to two of their counties in 
order to gradually force the Indians to emigrate. In 1828 
the State extended her laws over the territory of the 
Cherokees, and the next year Alabama and Mississippi 
followed her example.- Jackson, in his first message to 
Congress, says: "I informed the Indians inhabiting parts 
of Alabama and Georgia that their attempt to establish 
an independent government would not be countenanced 
by the Executive of the United States."^ He also, at the 
request of the Governor, Withdrew the Federal troops 
sent to Georgia to protect the Indians. Three times 
between 1830 and the close of 1832 the claims of the 
Indians were taken from the Georgia courts to the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and each time the 
court declared in favor of the Indians as claimants under 
treaties with the United States. But the Executive 
refused to enforce the decisions. 

The greatest evil came from the Seminoles, of Florida. 
They formed a branch of the Creek Nation, but refused to 
fulfill the treatj^ of August, 1790, between the United 
States and the Creeks, by which they agreed to surrender 

iColumbus (Ga.) Compiler of September 8, 1831. 
2Hart, Formation of the Union. 

sMessages and Papers of the Presidents, vol. II; Niles Register; 
Snmner's Jackson. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 135 

all slaves who had fled to them. It was for this reason 
that the treaty of Indian Springs stipulated for the liqui- 
dation of the claims of Georgia for damages to property 
robbed and destroyed previous to 1802, provided the sum 
did not exceed |250,000. The depredations continued, 
and, under the French and Spanish sway in Florida, they 
were especially troublesome, partly on account of the 
inability of the authorities to overcome them and partly 
on account of foreigners inciting the Indians against the 
United States. Jackson marched against them in 1818. 
and for this reason felt justified in disregarding the neu- 
tral rights of Spain on the Florida peninsula, and in 
hanging two British subjects. At this time more than 
one thousand slaves had taken refuge among the Indians, 
with whom they had intermarried and formed a danger- 
ous horde on the outskirts of the slave States, constantly 
inciting the slaves to rebellion.^ This continued the case, 
notwithstanding article vii of the treaty of Camp Moul- 
trie, September 18, 182-3, which obligated the Seminoles 
to "use all necessary exertions to apprehend and deliver 
the same (absconding slaves or fugitives from justice) to 
the agent."^ 

On the 9th of May, 1832, another treaty, fraudulent, 
some say,^ was signed by some of the Seminole chiefs, 
agreeing to investigate the lands west of the Mississippi, 
and if they found them satisfactory and the Creeks willing 
to reunite with them, to vacate Florida hj 1835. The 

lAn address of prominent citizens of Florida to tlie President 
reads: "While these indomitable people eoutiniie where they 
now are. the owners of slaves in our territory and even in the 
States contiguous cannot, for a moment, in anything like secur- 
ity, enjoy this kind of property."— Von Hoist, Constitutional 
History of the United States, vol. II, p. 294; Giddiug's Speeches, 
p. 8; Executive Documents, TVenty-fifth Congress, Third Ses- 
sion, No. 225, p. 56. 

2Statutes at Large, VII. p. 22.5. 

aNiles, LVI, p. 289; ^Memoirs of .1. Q. Adams. IX, p. 518. 



136 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

commissioners were satisfied with what they found, and 
the Indians signed a supplementary treaty at Fort Gibson 
on the 28th of March, 1833, in which they promised to 
begin to migrate "as soon as the government will make 
arrangements for them satisfactory to the Seminole 
Nation."^ The negroes feared the Creeks, however, who 
claimed them in compensation for the residue of the 
^250,000 which had been left after paying the Georgia 
claims, and which Congress had refused them. Thus the 
negroes determined to frustrate the execution of the 
treaty. In 1831 Governor Duval expressed his conviction 
that the removal of the Indians would be impossible until 
the negroes were mastered. These Indians and negroes 
were especially dangerous, as they could fall back into 
the malarial swamps, which furnished the products 
needed by them, but whose climate was deadly to the 
white man.- Eager to recapture their slaves and force a 
fulfillment of the treaty, the citizens, aided by the govern- 
ment ofScials, advanced into this country and recklessly 
seized the negroes, among whom was the wife of a chief, 
Osceola, a half-breed. The latter raged and was only 
calmed by his desire to escape prison and later wreak 
vengeance on his captors. He proceeded to the swamps 
and formed one of the most bloody plots. The United 
States agent in Florida was massacred, witli several of his 
friends, and Major Dade, with one hundred troops, was 
attacked and only one man escaped to tell the story.^ 
Indians and negroes assembled on all sides, murdered- 
citizens, and burned plantations promiscuously. It was 
impossible to subdue them, having been made desperate 
by their inability, as on former occasions, to retire before 
the encroachments of the whites. 

1 Statutes at Larc;e, VII, pp. 423, 424. 
2Niles Registei', LYII, p. 314. 
3lbid, XLIX, p. S67. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 137 

In March, 1837, General Jesup concluded a treaty with 
the Indians at Camp Dade/ from which he expected an 
end of the war.^ In order to prevent interference by the 
whites with the negro property of the Indians, and to 
assist their emigration, he issued, on April 5th, an army 
order prohibiting all whites not engaged in the service 
of the United States from entering the territory between 
the St. John river and the Gulf of Mexico south of Fort 
Dane. The citizens of East Florida protested that this 
was protecting the Indians in their depredations upon the 
white inhabitants, and that no pacification could result 
from the order. On April 8th General Jesup persuaded 
the chiefs to surrender all the negroes of the whites that 
had fled to them before the beginning of the war,^ and on 
the 27th promised not to let those that had absconded 
before it leave the country.* The negroes took alarm and 
fled to the swamps. Jesup confessed, ''All is lost, and, 
principally, I fear, by the influence of the negroes and of 
the people who were the subject of our correspondence."^ 
The contest was renewed with vigor. The soldiers were 
to have the property of the Seminoles that fell into their 
hands. The Creeks were offered inducements to join the 
forces of the United States, besides the property that fell 
into their possession and a reward of twenty dollars per 

lExecutive Documents, Twenty-fifth Congress, Third Session, 
vol. V, No. 225, pp. 52, 53. 

2He writes at this time: "There is no disposition on the part 
of the greater body of the Indians to renew hostilities, and they 
will, I am sure, faithfully fulfill their engagements if the inhabi- 
taitts of the territory be prudent, but any attempt to seize their 
negroes or other property would be followed by an instant resort 
to arms. I have some hopes of inducing both the Indians and 
the Indian negroes to unite in bringing in the negroes taken from 
the citizens during the war." Executive Documents, Twenty-fifth 
Congress, Third Session, vol. V, No. 225, p. 9. 

-Executive Documents. Twenty-fifth Congress, Third Session, 
vol. V. No. 225. pp. 10, 108, 109. 

4lbid, p. 13. 

5Jesup to Colonel Gadesden, June 14, 1837. 



138 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

head for each negro captured. This last was to induce the 
Indians to take alive and not destroy the negroes of the 
citizens who had been captured by the Seminoles. The con- 
sequence of this policy was that within a short time most 
of the negroes had been captured. The Indians, however, 
continued so strong that Jesup recommended that they 
should be left in Florida for a time and confined to a 
definite district.^ But this proposition was rejected,- and 
the war continued. 

In March, 1839, Congress appropriated $5,000 to con- 
clude a treaty with the Seminoles,^ and the President 
sent General Macomb to Florida to endeavor to bring 
about peace. The reconciliation which he accomplished, 
however, was indefinite and ambiguous on the decisive 
subject.* Not only the Seminoles, but the whites under- 
stood the agreement to mean that the Indians were prom- 
ised to be allowed to remain for an indefinite time. 
Treachery on both sides was the signal for the renewal of 
the war after a few weeks, which continued until armed 
occupation by white settlers brought to a close the last 
serious obstacle to the national policy of transferring the 
Indians beyond the Mississippi. In pursuance of this pol- 
icy laud was offered free to those settlers who would 
reside five j^ears in Florida. In great numbers people 
flocked hither, bringing their plows and other implements 
for clearing the forests. They established lines of defense, 
and soon the Seminoles were reduced to about three hun- 
dred, who were allowed to reside within the limits in the 
lower marshes of the peninsula. 

It would appear at first thought that these Indian wars 
exerted a more injurious effect upon the slaves after 1831 
than before. But the reverse was the case. Previous to 

iJesup to Poinset, February 11, 1838, Niles, LIV. 
zPoinset to Jesup, March 1, 1838, Niles, p. 52. 
3Statutes at Large, vol. V, p. 358; Niles, vol. LYII, p. 313. 
4Niles, vol. LVI, p. 249. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 139 

this date the issues were only partisan, and the most 
stringent measures to prevent insurrection had not been 
deemed necessary. The principles which dominated the 
policy of the United States as to Cuba and the West 
Indies now controlled the slave section in regard to the 
Indians, the Administration of Jackson concurring so far 
as to foresee more danger from this source than from 
the doctrine of nullification which he later bitterly 
opposed in the case of South Carolina and the tariff.^ 
But in those parts of the country remote from the 
slave and Indian population there arose a sympathy 
for the Indian race, like that for the negro, strongest 
in those States which were unembarrassed by its 
neighborhood. Black Hawk, the bold, crafty leader 
of the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes, was extolled 
as a hero and general. Osceola, bloodthirsty and per- 
fidious; was exalted into a patriot. The exjjression of 
these sympathies was only one step in advance of the hos- 
tilities first begun in the Missouri Compromise. Thus 
these Indian wars had a two-fold effect, both in encour- 
aging the slaves to rebellion and in arousing sympathy 
for the negro in the sentimental abolitionist, who worked 
for the same end. 

The abolition societies and Quakers, as earlj-^ as 1789, 
petitioned Congress to abolish slavery. But all minds 
were put at ease for many years by the declaration that 
slavery was a question to be regulated by the individual 
States. During this era of peace, domestic and foreign, 
Virginia exerted every effort to free her slaves, but was 

i 

iThe people of Florida saw the evil and said: "The contiguity 
of the emancipated colored population of the West Indies would, 
in a war with some foreign power, place Florida and, in fact, 
the whole of our Southern States, in jeopardy. There is no posi- 
tion in which those Indians could be located so dangerous to the 
peace and happiness of the Southern people and interests of the 
United States as the peninsula of Florida."— Niles, vol. LVI. pp. 
265, 2G6. 



140 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION, 

confronted with the problem of what to do with them 
when free. The North had gradually freed hers, compen- 
sating the owners therefor, and all economic interest in 
the institution having been lost, a strong abolition senti- 
ment sprang up which was destined to prevent Virginia's 
accomplishing the same end in the same manner.^ 
The movement took a new turn in the form of forged peti- 
tions, signed by fictitious names of negroes, and did not,^ 
as the old Quaker one of earlier date, ''respect constitu- 
tional bounds and seek mild persuasion of the white mas- 
ter who held the local law in his hands. It boldly pro- 
claimed that the laws of nature were paramount to a 
human institution; it preached freedom as of divine right, 
and in defiance, if need be, of the enslavers. * * * 
Abolitionism slid into an angry tirade against the Consti- 
tution as a covenant with death and agreement with hell, 
and their creed became 'no union with slaveholders.' 
* * * We shall see in the angry years that follow the 
Southern secessionists and Northern abolitionists stand- 
ing upon essentially the same platform, though at opposite 
ends, both demanding that the American Union be 
broken up."^ 

So great had the sentiment grown by 1826 that, in 

iMr. Benton said in the United States Senate in 1835 that the 
abolition societies had thrown the state of the emancipation 
question fifty years back and subjected every traveler and every 
immigrant from non-slave-holding States to be received with 
coldness and viewed with suspicion and jealousy in the slave- 
holding States; further, that they had occasioned many slaves 
to lose their lives, caused the privileges of slaves to be curtailed 
and their bonds to be more tightly drawn, besides opening a 
gulf of misery to the free people of color. 

It is well to note here that by abolitionists is meant not those 
who favored emancipation pi'ovided the negroes were sent be- 
yond the limits of the United States, but those who demanded the 
unconditional abolition of slavery. The latter by no means com- 
prised the majority of Northern people, while the former class 
embraced many influential slave-holders of the South. 

2Schouler's History of the United States, vol. IV, pp. 210. 211. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 141 

response to a petition from Francis Larche, Mr. Martin- 
dale, from the Committee on Claims of the House, made 
the following report: "That this is a claim for the value of 
a slave belonging to the petitioner, impressed into the 
service of the United States by General Jackson in the 
defense of New Orleans, and alleged to have been killed 
by a cannon shot while in service. Without stopping to 
deny or admit any of the facts by which the petitioner 
supports any of his claims, the committee recommends 
its rejection upon principle. The emergency justifies the 
impressing of every moral agent capable of contributing 
to the defense of the place; to call upon the master to 
defend himself and slave, as well as the slave to defend 
his master. It would be the height of injustice to call 
upon the free citizens of States many miles distant from 
the place assaulted to pour out their blood and sacrifice 
their lives for its defense and at the same time to exon- 
erate from that service its own physical and moral force. 
Men are wanted, and in that capacity the slave was put 
in requisition. The master, too, might have been called 
upon, and his son, and his hired servants, as they were in 
other parts of the country, and where sons and fathers 
and husbands died without their lives being valued or 
compensated in money." The Southern citizens were 
accused of desiring pay for slaves lost in the defense of 
their country, which they refused to defend. But more, 
the report acknowledged the right of the United States 
to draft the slaves into service. France had required each 
province in Hayti to furnish so many negro and mulatto 
soldiers. The result was well known. Coming just after 
the Missouri Compromise, the first step which had opened 
the eyes of the South as to the position of the North, this 
report thoroughly alarmed Virginia as to the dangers of 
negro rebellion. The French negroes had been aroused 
to insurrection by white citizens, and the same danger 



142 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

confronted the South if the doctrine here set forth was 
once put into operation.^ 

^By 1829 not even the broad-minded Webster, who 
acknowledged that the slave owners were as upright and 
honest Christians as any in the world, was able to avert 
the sectional drift of the Public Land question without 
exhibiting his opposition to slavery and introducing top- 
ics which gave a more sectional phase to the debate. He 
claimed for the ''North and the North alone" the credit 
of the first law passed against slavery, the anti-slavery 
clause of the Ordinance of 1787, notwithstanding the fact 
that the honor belonged as much to Virginia, and took 
Ohio and Kentucky for examples, the superior improve- 
ment and population of the former being attributed to the- 
exemption from the evils of slavery. The words of Ben- 

iL. W. Tazewell, one of the Virginia representatives, sent this 
report to Governor John Tyler, who replied as follows: "Your 
favor of the 24th of April, covering the report of a committee 
of the House of Representatives on the subject of Larche's 
claims, etc., came duly to hand, and but for the correction, 
which, I trust, may be found in the good sense in the House of 
Representatives, would be well calculated to excite the most 
gloomy forebodings. 

"We should, indeed, have reached a point of the most frightful 
apprehensions when the Congress be found mad enough to sanc- 
tion the principles, or, more properly, the non-principles, con- 
tained in the report. It will be a point from which there will 
be receding and no advancing. But the precedents, fortunately, 
are all the other way. The late treaty with England, if any- 
thing more than the common sense of mankind was wanting to 
settle this question, does settle it. Slaves are there placed on 
the footing of propeHy, and he must be a wretched and unreliable 
enthusiast who would question the correctness of that decision. 
I always thought that certain politicians had gone a bow-shot 
too far when they attempted, as in this question, to elevate to 
the condition of citizens the free blaclis, but j\Ir. Martindale and 
his committee, in their notion of men and moral agents, have 
made a new and unforeseen discovery. This is what you prop- 
erly call it, a great question — a question big with the fate of the 
Union, a principle which startles, and is well calculated to alarm 
all the sensibilities of the patriot, and one in the settlement of 
which 1 shall, along with yourself and our common constituents,, 
watch with the deepest interest." 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 143 

ton in the famous debate will illustrate the hostile and 
inflammatory language and efforts employed during this 
period, both in and out of Congress. He says: "Christ 
saw all of this (the slavery of the ancients) and their white 
color, which was the same with His own, yet He said 
nothing against slavery, He preached no doctrines which 
led to insurrection and massacre, none which, in their 
application to the state of things in our country, would 
authorize an inferior race to exterminate that superior 
race of whites, in whose ranks He Himself appeared upon 
earth."^ 

Virginia never universally favored slavery, and never 
lost the hope of some day ridding herself of it. But this 
hostile sentiment forced her, with the rest of the South, 
to place herself in a position to be wrongly judged.- She 
saw the result of the discussion of slavery by the French 
Legislature, and felt that on this question the North bore 
the same relation to the South as France to St. Domingo. 
Consequently, her Representatives opposed the right of 
petitioning Congress on the subject of slavery. This posi- 
tion taken by the South against the right of petition was 
so favorable to the anti-slavery party that by 1831 the 
abolitionists had become very powerful in the United 
States. Alexander's History of African Colonization 
says:^ ''About this time the zeal of the abolitionists had 
become exceedingly warm, and great excitement was pro- 
duced both at the North and the South by the publication 
of inflammatory pamphlets containing highly colored 

1 Benton, vol. 1, chapter XLIV, pp. 130-137. 

2Mr. Benton said in 1829 in tiie United States Senate: "I can 
truly say tliat slavery, in the abstract, has but few advocates or 
defenders in the slave-holding States, and that slavery, as it is, 
an hereditary institution, descended iipon us from our ances- 
tors, would have fewer advocates among us than it has if those 
who have nothing to do with the subject would only let us 
alone." 

3The Virginia History of African Colonization, p. 27. 



144 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

descriptions of the cruelties exercised toward the slaves 
in the Southern States, and caricatures were prepared 
calculated to make a strong impression on the imagina- 
tion of the people. A pamphlet was printed in Boston, 
written by one Mr. Walker,^ which actually aimed to 
excite the slaves to insurrection, and did not hesitate to 
exhort them to take vengeance on their owners by imbu- 
ing their hands in their blood. Copies of these pamphlets 
were sent by mail into the Southern country." 

Walker says in the preface to this pamphlet: "All I 
ask is a candid and careful perusal of this the third and 
last edition of my appeal, where the world may see that 
we, the blacks or colored people, are treated more cruelly 
by the white Christians of America than devils them- 
selves ever treated a set of men, women and children on 
this earth. It is expected that all colored men, women 
and children of every nation, language and tongue under 
heaven, will try to procure a copy of the appeal and read 
it, or get someone to read it to them." He counsels care 
and courage in attempts at freedom. "Never make an 
attempt to gain our freedom or national right, from under 
cruel oppressors and murderers, until you see your way 
clear. * * * Fear not the number and education of 
our enemies, against whom we shall have to contend for 
our lawful rights. * * * One good black man can 
put to death six white men. * * * the whites have 
always been an unjust, jealous, unmerciful, avaricious 
and bloodthirsty set of beings always seeking after power 
and authority." He traces the history of the white race, 
and declares that they have always acted more like devils 

iThis David Walker was a free negro of Boston, and his 
pamphlet is entitled "Walker's Appeal, in Four Articles, together 
with n Preamble to the Colored Citizens of the World, but in 
particular and very expressly to those of the United States of 
America." It was written September, 1829, and revised and pub- 
lished in 1830. He was a publisher and seems to have devoted 
his life to arousing the negroes of America. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 145 

than accountable men. ''If you commence," he continues, 
"make sure work — do not trifle for they will not trifle with 
jou — they want us for their slaves and think nothing of 
murdering us in order to subject us to that wretched con- 
dition — therefore, if there was an attempt made by us, kill 
or be killed." In August, 1829, a gang of slaves who 
were being driven through Kentucky rebelled and killed 
two of the negroes who had charge of them and fled. The 
third driver was assisted by one of the women to escape. 
Walker accuses this woman of being ignorant and a 
server of the devil, and says: "Any person who will save 
such wretches from destruction is fighting against the 
Lord, and will receive his just recompense." The negroes 
are advised to study and surpass the ignorant whites of 
the South, of whom he declared: "It is a fact that in all 
our slave-holding States there are thousands of the whites 
who are almost as ignorant in comparison as horses, the 
most the}^ know is to beat the colored people, which some 
of them shall have their heart full of yet. * * * This 
<'ountry is as much ours as it is the whites', whether they 
will admit it now or not, they will see and believe it by 
and by." The negroes are warned against the efforts of 
the Colonization Society as schemes of the slave-holders to 
get rid of the influences of the free blacks upon the slaves. 
He pleads for unity, secrecy, and courage, as God would 
raise up a Hannibal for them if they would only help 
themselves. This, he feels confident, will be the case some 
day, as in most of the slave countries the negroes were in 
the majority and more worthy than the whites. Four 
hundred and fifty thousand of the five or six hundred 
thousand negroes in Virginia, well armed, he would put 
against every white man on the continent of America. 
His warning to the whites is: "Remember, Americans, 
that we must and shall be free and enlightened as you 
are. Will you wait until we shall, under God, obtain 



146 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

our liberty by the crushing arm of force? Will it not be 
dreadful for you? I speak, Americans, for your good. We 
must and shall be free, I say, in spite of you. You may 
do your best to keep us in wretchedness and misery, ta 
enrich you and your children, but God will deliver us 
from under you. And woe, woe will be unto you if we 
have to obtain our freedom by fighting. Throw away your 
fears and prejudices, then, and enlighten us and treat us 
like men, and we will like you more than we do now 
hate you." 

The General Colored Association of Massachusetts 
exerted every effort to incite rebellion.^ It urged negroes 
to remain in America and work for the cause of emanci- 
pation. Richard Allen, a Bishop of the African Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, wrote to the editor of the Free- 
dom's Journal: ''I have been for several years trying to 
reconcile my mind to the colonization of Africa in Liberia, 
but there have always been and there still remain great 
and insurmountable objections against the scheme.. 
* * * This land which we have watered with our tears 
and our blood is now our mother country, and we are well 
satisfied to staj' where wisdom abounds and the Gospel 
is free."- These negroes were valuable agents for the 
abolitionists, the principal of whom was William L. Gar- 
rison, the editor of the Liberator. Even the poet Whittier 
wrote a poem entitled "The Branded Hand," of which 
the following is a stanza: 

"And the tyrants of the slavelaud shall tremble at that 

sign, 
When it points its finger southward along the Puritan 

line; 

iTlie Freedom's Journal, of December 20, 1828, has an address 
before the Society by David Walker. 

2Freedom's Journal, for November 2, 1827, vol, 1, No. 34. They 
seem to have been very successful. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION 147 

Woe to the State-gorged leeches and the church's locust 

band, 
When they look from slavery's ramparts on the coming of 

that hand."^ 

In Baltimore was published the weekly Genius of Uni- 
versal Emancipation, edited by Benjamin Lundy, which 
took as its motto, "We hold these truths to be self-evident; 
that all men are created equal and endowed by their Cre* 
ator with certain inalienahle rights; that among these, are 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." These organs 
kept in touch with European affairs and published weekly 
accounts of them, especially of the abolition movement 
in England, as given by the (London) Anti-Slavery 
Monthly Register. 

By degrees serfdom disappeared from the social order 
of Western Europe, leaving the germ of hostility to every 
form of servitude. England, at an early date, joined with 
the United States and France in suppressing the slave 
trade. Spain and Portugal were the last to yield, the 
former in 1830 and the latter in 1820. In 1823 the English 
Anti-Slavery party was formed by men like Wilberforce, 
Buxton, and Macaulay, who secured the passage of a 
resolution on the 5th of May that the home government 
recommend to the Colonial Legislatures certain measures 
of amelioration in the treatment of the slaves, and that, 
if they refused, these measures be forced upon them. This 
acquiescence of the home government in the principles of 
the Anti-Slavery party very much incensed the planters, 
who took active steps to conceal from the slaves the 
arrival of the order in council. A vain attempt in Dem- 
erara^ led the slaves to believe they had been set free. 

iThe trial and imprisoament of .Jonathan Walker at Pensacola, 
Florida. 

20ne of the most populous and wealthy provinces of British 
Guiana. It takes its name from a river running through it. 



148 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

They refused to work and resisted when force was used. 
Martial law, however, was proclaimed and the uprising 
suppressed with great severity. This act excited much 
indignation in England against the planters, and Wilber- 
force, Stephen, Brougham, and others abated their efforts 
only during a period allowed the local Legislatures for 
carrying into effect the measures expected of them. In 
1828 the free people of color were put on a footing of legal 
equality with the whites. In 18.30, since it was evident 
that the planters did not intend to take further steps for 
the liberation of the slaves, the leaders in Parliament 
determined to urge the entire abolition of slavery at the 
earliest practicable period. This opportunity arrived in 
183.3, under the Ministry of Lord Grey, and slavery was 
abolished throughout the British Empire, all slave-holders 
being paid for the slaves save the Boers of South Africa, 
who, in consequence, emigrated from Cape Colony and 
founded the Transvaal, England's eternal enemy. This 
English anti-slavery zeal was infused into the movement 
in America by the abolitionists, who dared to import anti- 
slavery orators from the nation that, above all others, 
had, from the Revolutionary War on, disturbed the insti- 
tution of American slavery. This influence was felt to 
such an extent by 1830 that it could be said: "The Eng- 
lish are the best friends the colored people have upon 
earth. Though they have oppressed us a little and have 
colonies now in the West Indies which oppress us sorely, 
yet, notwithstanding, they (the English) have done one 
hundred times more for the melioration of our condition 
than all the other nations of the earth put together. The 
blacks cannot but respect the English as a nation, not- 
withstanding they have treated us a little cruel. "^ Every- 

iWalker's Appeal, p. 47. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 149 

thing was done by the British officials to offend the slave- 
holders of the United States.^ 

These inflammatory papers and pamphlets and reports 
of affairs abroad were circulated through the mails to 
such an extent and had such an effect upon the negroes 
that the State authorities had to take active measures to 
prevent it.- Nor was this all. Ministers visited Virginia, 
and instead of preaching the gospel, secretly communi- 

iThe Jamaica Courent, of August 26, 1831, says: "We tran- 
scribe from the opposition journal recently established at Nassau 
an article relating to the manner in which the British Govern- 
ment has disposed of certain slaves of the United States, who 
had been wreclved on their passage from one part of the republic 
to another and had been brought before the admiralty jurisdic- 
tion of the Bahama Islands. According to international law one 
nation has no right to legislate over a people of another de- 
pressed by accident of nature. Such an act comes with very ill- 
grace from Great Britain, which from the first of William III. to 
the middle of George III. declared tlae slave trade to be most 
beneficial and not to be restrained— nay, forbid her then colonies 
New Hampshire and Virginia in any way to restrict the trade." 
After further portraying the manner in which British despotism 
forced slavery on America when too weak to resist her, and how 
Jefferson, as acknowledged by Lord Brougham, first effectually 
raised his voice in inducing Virginia to abolish the slave trade,» 
this paper adds: "Since the United States has been gradually 
freeing themselves from the internal slave trade and slavery 
which is acknowledged to be inferior to all classes. She has 
abolished it in all States north of the Potomac and without vio- 
lating the rights of her citizens, but with the most equitable 
consideration of the claims of private property. She proceeded 
in the natural order, freed from war duties in the time of peace 
and (with) the certainty of enjoying one's profits of labor, (she) 
encouraged free labor, which (was) found so much more beneficial 
than slavery, which never was advantageous except to white 
Europeans who stole the slaves to sell to the New World. Thus 
Great Britain forced slavery on lier weak colonies, and when 
they ceased to be hers she finds out the property she sold and 
created is so base that it justifies a violation of international 
law." 

2A letter from Raleigh to the National Gazette of October 13, 
1831, says that a number of the "Liberators," printed in Boston 
by the editor, William Lloyd Garrison and published by Isaac 
Knapp, came to Raleigh, and the attorney general submitted an 
indictment to the grand jury, who found it a "true bill." 



150 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

cated with the slaves and sent back to the North most 
horrible accounts of heathenism and cruelties. These men 
usually were of an inferior type and were aided by other 
secret agents as peddlers, etc., even women condescending 
to become abolition missionaries.^ 

A white man, Bradley, was known to have been very 
intimate with Nat Turner. This fact, together with con- 
temporaneous circumstances, leaves no doubt but that 
abolition documents and agents had great influence upon 
the insurrection.- In his message to the Legislature in 
relation to the massacre. Governor Floyd said: "From 
the documents which I lay before you, there is too much 
reason to believe those plans of treason, insurrection, and 
murder have been designed, planned, and matured by 
unrestrained fanatics in some of the neighboring States, 
who find facilities in distributing their views and plans 

iThe following is an extract from a letter to a gentleman in 
Norfolk, dated Camfbridge, Maryland, October 4, 1831: "A white 
woman was arrested at Northwest Fork Bridge (22 miles from 
here). A black man communicated to Representatives Dr. Nicho- 
las and Mr. Kenon that a woman from Philadelphia was sent 
to instruct the negroes how they might succeed in their con- 
spiracy. He told them he knew he was not a witness against 
a w^hite person, but that, if they would come to his house that 
evening, they conld hear for themselves. They did so and heard 
what she had to say; she told the black men if they wanted 
arms to write on to the Bishop of Bethlemite Church in Phila- 
delphia and he would furnish them with such advice as they 
should want in their undertaking. She was lodged in jail for 
trial." This occurred a few months after the Southampton mas- 
sacre, but it sufficiently illustrates what was going on before this 
incident. 

2A letter from Winton. North Carolina, to the Norfolk Herald, 
dated August 24, 1831, reads: "We are all in a state of confusion 
here. There has been an insurrection of the negroes of South- 
ampton in the neighborhood of Cross Keys, about thirty miles 
from here. From the best information we have had, three white 
men and four slaves of a gentleman near Cross Keys rose upon 
him before day on Monday and killed him and all his white fam- 
ily," etc. "He (Nat) had been influenced by religious fanaticism 
and by white preachers of black equality."— Stephen B. Weeks 
in Magazine of American History for 1897. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 151 

;amoug our population either through the postoffice or by 
agents sent for that purpose throughout our territory." 
These agents were especially accessible to the free negroes 
and through them to the slaves. After portraying further 
influence of these agents, the Governor continues: "Some 
proof is also furnished that for the class of free people of 
color they have offered more enlarged views and urge the 
achievement of a higher destiny by means, for the present, 
less violent, but not differing in the end from those pre- 
sented to the slaves."^ Mr. R. A. Brock writes: ''The 
fruits of these incendiary machinations soon began to 
appear. On the 21st and 22d of August, 1831, a body of 
sixty or seventy slaves, under the leadership of Nat Tur- 
ner, the slave of Mr. Benjamin Turner, of Southampton, 
arose on the white inhabitants of the county and butch- 
ered by night fifty-five persons, chiefly helpless women 
and children. "- 

GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE INSURREC- 
TION. — The Southampton insurrection was barbarous 
beyond degree. Depredations, murder, and the most 
revolting crimes were committed in cold blood, but its 
true nature and extent have never been thoroughly 
grasped. Either it is represented as having been confined 
to a portion of a magisterial district, or its leader is said 
to have recruited his forces through all Eastern Virginia 
and Carolina south of James river. The former view is 
of later origin and due to the words of Nat Turner and to 
a desire to believe the disaffection of limited extent and 
uninfluenced Jby external events. Having assured Nat of 

ijMi". Collin Kitelipn was in Smithflelcl when he heard the news 
of the insurrection. He at oBce started for home. But at the 
Blackwater the Isle of Wiglit troops refused his passage for some 
time, as they feared he was a pretended trader lending aid to 
the insurgents. They had moved the planks of the liridge in 
order to more readily resist the passage of white spies. 

^Collections of the Virginia Historical Society, New Series, 
vol. VI. 



152 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

the certain death that awaited him, and convinced him 
that concealment would only bring destruction on the 
innocent as well as the guilty of his own color, Mr. Gray 
asked him if he knew any extensive or concerted plan. 
His answer was, ''I do not." He denied all knowledge of 
a similar rebellion in North Carolina, and added: "I see, 
sir, you doubt my word: but can you not think the same 
ideas and strange appearances about this time in the 
heavens might prompt others^ as well as myself, to this 
undertaking?" It was but natural, on the other hand, 
that the extent of the plot should be exaggerated. In the 
summer of 1831 there were slave revolts in Martinique, 
Antigua, St. Jago (Santiago), Caracas, and Tortugas. 
Their influence seems to have spread to the United States. 
In Delaware and Maryland there were signs of discontent 
among the slaves, mostly caused by slave dealers, who 
stirred up discontent among the slaves in order to induce 
the masters to sell them at low rates, and in many cases 
induced the slaves to flee in the hope of promised freedom 
and a life of ease and comfort, free from work.^ A letter^ 
from Princess Anne, Somerset county, Maryland, says: 
"Much excitement prevails from an apprehended insurrec- 
tion of the negroes; patrols have been out for several 
nights in all parts of the county, and several high charac- 
ters have been brought in and committed to prison." The 
slaves working the gold mines of Burke and Rutherford 
counties, North Carolina, were discovered in a deep-laid 
plot. A letter^ from Rutherfordton says: ''The negroes 
working the mines of the neighborhood have been de- 
tected in insurrectionary attempts and several brought 
before the Supreme Court, one general, a major, two cap- 
tains, and others of inferior grade. The best white people 

iThese men sold the same negroes in the extreme Southerni 
States for large sums. 
2Baltimore Patriot. 
3National Gazette, October 13, 1831. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 153 

have been called together to take measures to suppress 
the insurrectionary spirit and prevent the introduction of 
mean negroes." In Richmond county several arrests 
were made and iron spikes for carrying into execution the 
scheme of the slaves were discovered. 

The entire Black Belt seems to have been aroused. 
The first information of this was reported to Mr. Usher, 
of South Washington, by a free negro, who said that 
Dave, a slave of Mr. Morisey, of Sampson, solicited his 
co-operation and that of several others in an insurrection. 
Mr, Usher communicated this information to Mr. Kelly, of 
Duplin, who immediately caused the arrest of Dave. He 
confessed to his master that the negroes of Sampson, 
Duplin, Lenoir, and New Hanover were regularly organ- 
ized and prepared to rise on the 4th of October, and he 
gave the names of the four leaders in Sampson and Dup- 
lin and of several in Wilmington. Having murdered the 
principal families, the insurgents intended marching upon 
Wilmington by two routes. Here they expected a rein- 
forcement of two thousand, after which, well armed, they 
were to return and take possession of the country. Troops 
were called out in eYerj county in the State and the 
greatest excitement prevailed. On September 13th the 
citizens of Sampson county wrote the Governor: "Sir: 
The inhabitants of Sampson have been alarmed with an 
insurrection of the negroes. We have ten or fifteen negroes 
in Jail and have such proof that most of them will be 
bound over to our Superior Court. We have testimony 
that will implicate most of the negroes in the county. 
We wish you to issue an order to the colonel of the 
county to appoint a guard to guard the jail until the 
negroes shall have their trial. The people of Duplin 
county have examined ten or fifteen negroes and found 
two guilty and have put them to death. There never was 
such excitement in Sampson and Duplin before." A dis- 
patch from Washington to Wilmington represented the 



154 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

negroes two hundred strong as marching from the former 
to the latter place. A second dispatch confirmed this 
report, and the citizens flew to arms. The females col- 
lected in houses near the courthouse and remained in 
anxious sleeplessness until daylight brought the tidings 
that the report was false and that the firing heard and 
supposed to be an encounter between the whites and 
blacks was nothing more than a discharge from a swivel 
by some young men at Lisburn (Black River), with the in- 
tention of clearing it out. The blacks had never assem- 
bled with any treasonable intent, and the companies that 
turned out in the neighboring counties merely pursued 
thirty or forty negroes, who had fled from fright. In 
Raleigh a report was circulated that the negroes, having 
burned Wilmington, were marching upon the capital. 
The entire night of September 12th was spent under arms, 
and the morning of the 13th presented a dreary aspect. 
The leading men assembled in the courthouse to examine 
suspected negroes, while women ran, distracted, in every 
direction. All business was suspended, and the arms and 
ammunition of the stores were confiscated. All the males 
enlisted in companies, even the old men forming the "Sil- 
ver Greys," and fortified the churches and other public 
buildiDgs, to which the women and children were to flee 
at the first sound of the capitol bell. Such was the state 
of affairs, when a gentleman from Johnson county rushed 
into the town appealing for arms and ammunition.^ It 
was reported that twenty-one negroes had been arrested 
in Edenton on a charge of inciting rebellion, that Clinton 
had been burned, and the bridge over the Cape Fear river 
at Fayetteville blown up. The tension of the citizens was 
at such a pitch that when O'Rouke's blacksmith shop 
took fire the capitol bell tolled and the alarm spread, 
"Nat Turner and his followers are upon us!" The negroes 

iHis horse fell dead as he dismounted. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 155 

were even more alarmed than the whites. On the 14th 
every free negro was examined before the committees of 
vigilance, and those that could not give a satisfactory 
account of their means of subsistence were either impris- 
oned or ordered to leave the place forthwith. The slaves 
were also carefully examined and every kitchen searched. 
The alarm soon subsided, however, and the negroes in 
general "behaved manfully, and caused a high reputation 
for disinterested intrepidity and strict honesty."^ To 
avoid suspicion, those negroes who were on their way to 
market, as soon as they heard of the insurrection, left 
their goods at the nearest farmhouses and returned home 
to report to their masters. These facts, together with 
the report that the negroes of the counties of North Caro- 
lina contiguous to Southampton contemplated rebelling 
on the same day with those of that county, and had failed 
in this resolve merely from a misunderstanding, there 
being five Sundays in August instead of four, naturally 
led to the belief that the Southampton insurrection was 
general and extended over all Carolina and Virginia. 

Both of the views given are in a measure tiue. The 
influence of the insurrection was widespread, extending 
to the North as well as to the South.- The negroes of 
North Carolina were encouraged by the partial success of 
Nat Turner, but the disturbed spirit of the slaves was a 
natural consequence of the times, and seems to have been 

iThe American Annual Register said tliis in commendation of 
the negroes of Fayetteville at the $1,500,000 fire in May, 1831. 

2Rev. Lorenzo Dow, in his "Life and Works," p. 159. says: 
"The negro plot of General Nat in Virginia, extended from the 
State of Delaware to the Gulf of Mexico, systematically ar- 
ranged, as is evident from the various executions in a string, 
about that time, exemplified in various places! Also the foreign- 
ers, systematically itinerating for what purpose, antecedent and 
subsequent to that time. Moreover, it is evident the slaves could 
not have had the opportunity of such systematical arrangement, 
so extensive: hence it is evident that it must be ti-aced to another 
source — white men behind the scene. 



156 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

greatest in that portion of Carolina most accessible to 
external influences, and which it was impossible for the 
direct exertion of the Southampton negroes to reach. On 
the other hand, though the execution of the plot was con- 
fined to a magisterial district of three thousand inhab- 
itants, every effort was exerted to arouse the negroes of 
the neighboring counties of Virginia and Carolina. Gen- 
eral Eppes, in a general order, and again in an official 
letter, to the Governor, reported that he was convinced 
from various sources that there existed no general concert 
among the slaves, and that circumstances, impossible to 
have been feigned, demonstrated the entire ignorance on 
the subject of all the slaves of the counties around South- 
ampton. The editor of the Norfolk Herald, however, in 
the number which contained this expression of General 
Eppes' opinion, says that there were divers reports that 
favored the idea of a preconcerted plan of operation 
extending to other counties, in which a number of impli- 
cated negroes were on trial. In September a negro 
preacher was arrested in Prince William, and the Peters- 
burg Intelligencer of the second Friday in September 
says: ''In Prince George, on Thursday last, a slave of the 
name of Christopher, belonging to Mr. Henry C. Heath, a 
blacksmith hj trade and a preacher by profession, was 
tried by the county court on a charge of being connected 
with the Southampton conspirators, and condemned to 
death. He is to be hung the first Friday in October." In 
October several negroes confined in Sussex jail knocked 
the jailer down and attempted to escftpe. Only one suc- 
ceeded. One was killed, one wounded, and four, captured 
by the guard, were tried and executed.^ Thus four negroes 
were condemned and two transported by Sussex for con- 
nection with the Southampton insurrection, while Nanse- 
mond transported one and Surrj^ one. 

iNational Gazette, November 1, 1831. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 157 

Similar results seem to have been the consequence in 
other counties. A gentleman of Nansemond says: "1 
have often been told that the plans for the insurrection 
were laid at Barnes' Church, at a protracted meeting, the 
Sunday preceding the night the conspirators commenced 
their cruel work. I have also often heard that there were 
a great many negroes from around Winton, N'orth Caro- 
lina, and other places quite a distance from the church. I 
have often been told by n\j mother, who lived in Nanse- 
mond county, about four miles from the Southampton 
county line, and more than twenty miles from this 
(Barnes') church, that an old negro (Moses) in the family, 
who was considered a bad character, to the surprise of the 
family, asked permission the week before to attend this 
meeting. As soon as the insurrection was reported, of 
course, this singular request was explained. But the re- 
port of their laying their plans at this church seemed to 
conflict with Nat's confession, unless this was another 
party which was to act in concert with him and failed to 
do so."^ The whites were conducting a revival service at 
Barnes' on the 14th of August, and many negroes were 
present who had the privilege of worshiping with the 
whites and also of attending services conducted by 
preachers of their own color. Nat preached on this date, 
and seemed to have gained many sympathizers, who sig- 
nified their willingness to co-operate with him by wearing 
around their necks red bandanna handkerchiefs, and who 
in many ways showed their rebellious spirit." This behav- 
ior was not understood until after the insurrection. 

The plot was also in contemplation for a greater time 
than is generally believed. As early as 1825 Nat Turner 
was preaching, and he astounded the slaves by his strange 
utterances and deeds. A letter from Jerusalem of Sep- 

iDr. W. H. Daughtry, Sunbeam, Virginia. I 

2They tried to r'ide over wliite people. 



158 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

tember, 21, sajs that a negro woman belonging to Mr. 
Solomon Parker stated that she had heard the subject 
discussed among her master's slaves and those of the 
neighborhood eighteen months before the insurrection. 
For several years plans for insurrection were maturing in 
the mind of Nat Turner, and by February, 1831, he had 
so far determined upon his scheme that he related it to 
four of the most influential negroes of his section. From 
that time every effort was made to enlist the co-operation 
of other slaves, but with the^ greatest patience and pru- 
dence. The negro woman above mentioned said that in 
May and August she had heard several negroes express 
themselves as determined to unite against the whites, and 
that they had threatened to kill her if she told. The 
slaves of Mr. Benjamin Edwards testified that they had 
heard that "General Nat" was going to kill all the white 
people and that the negroes would be forced to join him 
or be killed. Berry Newsom, a free negro, on Monday, 
August 22d, remarked in the presence of these slaves 
that "the damn rascal" (Mr. Edwards) had been where 
they were at work, but that the negroes would get him 
before night. 

The insurrection was a failure through no want of exer- 
tion on the part of the leaders, but on account of the 
iwfusal of the slaves in general to participate. This was 
due partially to fear. Many negroes besides those of Boy- 
kins District would have participated had the insurgents 
been more successful and less readily suppressed. The 
greatest restraint upon the slaves, however, was affection 
and good judgment. Their treatment and training had 
been such as to inspire obedience and contentment. Con- 
sequently, only sixty or seventy negroes w^ere implicated, 
and of these only about forty were guilty, the remainder 
being forced to participate. Well might the Richmond 
Compiler of August 25th say: "The militia of Southamp- 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSTJHRECTION. 159 

ton bad been most active in ferreting out the fugitives 
from their hiding places, which was, of course, to be 
expected from their superior knowledge of their county. 
But it deserves to be said to the credit of many of the 
slaves whom gratitude had bound to their masters, that 
they had manifested the greatest alacrity in detecting and 
apprehending many of the brigands. They had brought 
in sever-al, and a fine spirit had been shown in many of the 
plantations of confidence on the part of the masters and 
gratitude on the part of the slaves." In the same strain 
a letter from Norfolk to the National Gazette of August 
24th says: "There is verj^ little disaffection in the slaves 
generally, and they cannot muster a force sufficient to 
effect any object of importance. The few who have thus 
rushed headlong into the arena will be shot down like 
crows or captured and made examples of. The militia are 
collecting in all the neighboring counties and the utmost 
vigilance prevails." An express from Sufl:'olk^ says: "We 
have intimation that the insurrection was not the result 
of concert to anj^ extent, nor rested on any combination 
to give the least chance of success. This is evident from 
the small number of adherents which the ringleaders, with 
all their threats and persuasions, were enabled to enlist 
in their cause. The slaves throughout the county are 
generally well affected and even faithful to their employ- 
ers." While no estimate can be made of the damage that 
might have been done had these few fanatics been able to 
discipline their followers, the people of Wilmington. North 
Carolina, expressed the sentiment of the slave-holders 
of Virginia, as follows: "That the Nat Turner insurrec- 
tion could not be dismissed without speaking of the good 
behavior of the slaves thereabouts, who might be en- 
trusted, it was believed, to take part in the defense of the 

iNorfolk Hevalfl, Aut^-iist 26. 1831. 



160 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

community under any circumstances." Thus it was that 
the insurrection only served to bind master and slave in 
tighter bonds of affection, so that upon the surrender at 
Appomattox both wept at the thought of separation. 

■RESULTS OF THE INSUKRECTION.— The imme- 
diate result of the insurrection was the greatest excite- 
ment, alarm, and confusion in many parts of the South. 
Men went about in groups, the militia drills were renewed, 
and the arms, called in a few months before, reissued.^ 
Mr. Thomas Gray says : ''The late insurrection in South- 
ampton has greatlj^ excited the public mind and led to a 
thousand idle, exaggerated, and mischievous reports. It 
is the first instance in our history of an open rebellion of 
the slaves, and attended with such atrocious circum- 
stances of cruelty and destruction as could not fail to 
leave a deep impression, not onlj^ on the minds of the 
community where the fearful tragedy was wrought, but 
throughout every portion of our country in which this 
population is to be found." The least suspicion of another 
plot would have involved not only the guilty, but the inno- 
cent negroes, in indiscriminate murder. The Norfolk 
Herald in September said: "We were struck with the 
coincidence of opinion in the article from the Whig with 
the suggestion of our own mind before we saw that paper, 
and which we expressed in our last number, namely; that, 
judging from the excitement produced by the Southamp- 
ton murders on the minds of the whites in that and adja- 
cent counties, any future outrage of the blacks of a 
similar character would be retaliated by their indiscrimi- 
nate destruction. The arm of law would be inadequate 
to protect even the innocent from the general flood of 
vengeance and extermination." ■ , 

By December. 1881, all alarm had passed away and the 
people v>'ere in a position to consider carefully the actual 
status of the negro and what should be his future. The 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 161 

general public sentiment was in favor of emancipation,'^ 
and with this in view special pains had been taken to 
choose worthy and intelligent men for the Legislature, 
which was to meet in December. Howiso-n- says of the 
result: "The next Legislature was one of intelligence 
and talent." A permanent organization having been 
formed, the first question which confronted the Legisla- 
ture was the consideration of the various petitions con- 
cerning the future of slavery. The Governor foresaw the 
threatening evil, and said: "As a means of guarding 
-against the possible repetition of these sanguinary scenes, 
I cannot fail to recommend to your early attention the 
revision of all the laws intended to preserve in due sub- 
ordination the slave population of our State! In urging 
these considerations upon you, let me not be understood 
as expressing the slightest doubt or apprehension of gen- 
eral results. All communities are liable to suffer from the 
dagger of the murderous and midnight assassin, and it 
behooves them to guard against these. With us, the first 
returning light dispels the danger and soon witnesses the 
murderer in chains." 

The insurrection caused no fear of a successful servile 
insurrection, nor did it create a spirit of hostility to the 
slaves, but it centered public consideration upon the fol- 
lowing pertinent questions: Is not slavery the cause of 
the decline in the value of lands in certain portions of 
Virginia? Is it not the cause of emigration (directly or 
indirectly) from Virginia, and the lack of a dense white 
population? Is it not time to ask the Legislature to lessen 
the slave population, even with a view to final abolition? 

iMr. Montgomery says that many attributed the Nat Turner in- 
surrection to the articles of William L. Garrison and others in the 
Liberator, but that this was not so, for Garrison never opposed 
slaverj' in higher terms than did leading Virginians of the Lfegis- 
lature' of 1831 and 1832— Student's History of the United States, 
p. 312. 

^History of Virginia. 



162 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

Would it not be expedient to tax slaves so high as to- 
lessen their value and apply the proceeds to, (1) the 
removal and colonization of such as their masters w^ill 
give up, (2) removing free negroes, and (3) buying 
and colonizing the slaves, taking care to provide for the 
support of the State government by tax on other prop- 
erty? Would not such tax on slaves, by reducing their 
price, increase the Southern trade to an extent greatly 
beneficial to Virginia? Is it not advisable, that the Legis- 
lature of Virginia adopt measures to bring about the 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, so 
as to allow Congress to appropriate money for transport- 
ing free negroes and for purchasing slaves and sending 
them to Africa? It was not the intention of the Legisla- 
ture to discuss these questions with open doors. Conse- 
ijuently, a select committee was appointed to investigate 
all questions relating to slaves, free negroes, and mulat- 
toes, and the Governor was requested to lay before it all 
the papers and documents relating to the Southampton 
massacre. But, unfortunately, Mr. Goode, of Mecklen- 
burg, moved that the memorials for the gradual emanci- 
pation of the slaves and the removal of the free negroes 
and slaves from Virginia should not be submitted to the 
select committee. This was defeated by a vote of 93 to 
27, after which he moved that this committee be dis- 
charged, as it was inexpedient to legislate on the subject. 
Mr. Randolph immediately moved that this motion be so 
amended as to instruct the committee 'to inquire into the 
expediency of submitting to the qualified voters of the 
several towns, cities, boroughs, and counties of the Com- 
monwealth the propriety of providing by law that the 
children of all private slaves who may be born in the 
State on or after the 4th of July, 1840, shall become the 
j)roperty of the Commonwealth, the males at twenty-one 
years and the females at eighteen, if detained by their 
owners within the limits of Virginia until thev shall have 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 163 

amved at that age; and that they shall be hired out until 
the net sum arising therefrom ishall be sufficient to defray 
the expense of their removal beyond the limits of the 
United States.' Mr. Randolph's motion was carried by a 
vote of 116 to 7, but Mr. Brodnax, chairman of the com- 
mittee, reported as the opinion of the committee, "That 
it is inexpedient for the present to make any legislative 
enactment for the abolition of slavery." This report was 
adopted, and Mr. Bryce, of Goochland, moved to so amend 
The report as to prefix thereto the following: ''Profoundly 
sensible of the great evils arising from the condition of 
the colored population of this Commonwealth; induced 
by humanity as well as by policy to an immediate effort 
for the removal, in the first place, as well of those who are 
now free, as of such as may hereafter become free; believ- 
ing that this effort, while it is in just accordance with the 
sentiment of the community on the subject, will absorb all 
our present means; and that a further action for the 
removal of the slaves should await a more definite devel- 
opment of public opinion; Resolved," etc. This motion 
was carried, and the condition of the free negro was the 
next question in order. 

They had been allowed most of the privileges of the 
whites, except the right of suffrage.^ Freely marrying 
among theislaves, they had ready access to them, and had 
been actively employed in distributing inflammatory 
papers. Governor Floyd, consequently, recommended as in- 
dispensably necessary that the Legislature should, in the 
spirit of kindness which has ever characterized it, appro- 

iThe laws of Virginia have always beea prudent as to tine 
right of suffrage, only those being considered eligible voters who 
have an interest in the government.* The acts of 1655 and 1670 
permitted only freeholdei*s and housekeepers to vote. Indented 
servants were considered dangerous, as liable to create disturb- 
ances at elections. (Honing Statutes, vol. I, pp. 405, 411, 475 r 
Cook's History of Virginia, pp. 222-224.) The right of suffrage 
was not taken" from the free negroes till 1762. 



164 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

priate an annual sum of money for the remova:! of this 
people, as a last benefit, which the State was enabled to 
confer upon them. In accordance with this recommenda- 
tion, the expediency of setting apart for this object so 
much of the claims of Virginia on the general government 
as might belong to, and come into, the treasury of the 
State was debated, and the following resolutions were 
passed: "Resolved, That the Senate cause to be laid before 
the House a copy of the correspondence between Governor 
Monroe and President Jefferson in 1801, and subsequently 
growing out of an act of the Assembly adopted at the pre- 
ceding session, by which it was made the duty of the Gov- 
ernor to correspond with the President on the subject of 
the purchase of lands out of the State, to which persons 
obnoxious to the laws or dangerous to the peace of society 
may be removed, and also that the executive lay before 
the House such part of the correspondence as remained on 
file in that department." On the 3d of February a motion 
was made in the Virginia House that the Senate and 
House of Representatives empower the Governor to apply 
to the general government, in behalf of the General As- 
sembly, to procure a territory or territories beyond the 
limits of the United States, to which the several States 
might remove the whole or any part of the colored popu- 
lation, and that the Senators and Representatives of the 
State in Congress be requested to use their efforts to pro- 
mote that object. This motion was tabled to await the 
result of a bill introduced by Mr. Brodnax, of the select 
committee, which was introduced on the 28th of January. 
The latter bill, however, was indefinitely postponed by a 
vote of 18 to 14 in the Senate, and, consequently, the 
former was never taken* up. Mr. Brodnax's bill was for 
the removal of free negroes, or such as should become free 
and were willing to be removed, to some place beyond the 
limits of the United States. It forbade coercion except as 
to the free negroes, who remained in the State contrary to 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 165 

the laws of 1806, and it appropriated $35,000 for 1832 and 
190,000 for 1833 for transportation. The place of removal 
was left to the discretion of a central board, to consist of 
the Governor, Treasurer, and members of the Council of 
State, who should have power to appoint agencies in Nor- 
folk, Portsmouth, and other places as they, upon the 
recommendation of the county and corporation courts, 
should see fit. 

All plans for emancipation and colonization had come 
to naught. But why? Public sentiment was evidently in 
favor of emancipation.^ To all candid students of history 
this is evident. The principal revenues of the State were 
derived from lands and slaves, and without the slaves 
there was no immediately available labor. Consequently, 
if the negroes were transported before other labor could 

lA memorial to the Legislature by the ladies of Fluvanna 
county should be instanced. It says: "AVe cannot conceal from 
ourselves that an evil is among us, which threatens to outgrow 
the growth and eclipse the brightness of our national blessings. 
Our daughters and their daughters are destined to become, in 
their turn, the tender fosterers of helpless infancy, the directors 
of developing childhood, and the comijanions of those citizens, 
who will occupy the legislative and executive offices of their coun- 
try. Can we calmly anticipate the condition of the Southern 
States at that period, should no remedy be devised to arrest the 
progressive miseries attendant on slavery? Will the absent 
father's heart be at peace, when, amid the hurry of public affaii-s, 
his truant thoughts return to the home of his affection, surrounded 
by doubtful, if not dangerous, subjects to precarious authority? 
Perhaps when deeply engaged in his legislative duties his heart 
may quail and his tongue falter with irresistible apprehension for 
the peace and safety of objects dearer than life. 

"We can only aid the mighty task by ardent outpourings of 
the spirit of supplication at the Throne of Grace. We will call 
upon the God, in whom we trust, to direct your counsels by His 
unerring wisdom, guide you with His effectual spirit. We now 
conjure you by the sacred charities of kindi-ed, by tbe solemn 
obligations of justice, by every consideration of domestic affec- 
tion and patriotic duty, to nerve every faculty of your minds to 
the investigation of this important subject, and let not the united 
voices of your motliei*s, wives, daughters and Ivindred have 
sounded in vain in your ears." 



166 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

be introduced the land would be left idle and the State in 
poverty. Besides, revenues were not sufficient to pur- 
chase the slaves, and at the same time bear the expense of 
transportation, and the people realized that such a body 
of persons, unprepared for citizenship, would be a greater 
evil than slavery itself, both to themselves and to the 
country at large.^ Colonization on the American conti- 
nent was deemed inexpedient on the same grounds. Mr. 
Samuel J. Mills, one of the original promoters of the 
American Board of Missions and the American Bible 
Society, who had made a special study of the negro, said, 
when a project was set on foot to colonize the blacks 
beyond the Ohio river : "Whether any of us live to see it 
or not, the time will come when the white men will want 
all that region, and will have it, and our colony would be 
overwhelmed."- Mr. Monroe said, in 1829: ''As to the 
people of color, if the Southern States wished to emanci- 
pate them, they might invite the United States to assist 
them; but without such invitation the other States ought 
not and would not interfere." But the Legislature of 
1881-32 had witnessed the evils of petitions and requests 
for and in regard to slavery, and concluded that such 
requests implied the right of the general government to 
emancipate the slaves, and so compromised the dignity 
and honor of Virginia. The sentiment in Virginia, how- 

i"A]l must concur, however," says the committee of the United 
States Senate appointed on the subject of the colonization of the 
free people of color in 1827, "in regarding the present condition 
of the free colored race in America as inconsistent with its future 
social and political advancement, and, where slavery exists at 
all, as calculated to aggravate its evils without any atoning good." 
Continuing, the committee said: "Their own consciousness of 
their degraded condition in the United States, has appealed to the 
North as well as the South, in their repeated efforts to find a ter- 
ritory beyond the limits of the Union to which they may retire 
and on which, secure from external danger, they may hope for 
the enjoyment of political as well as civil liberty." 

2Latimer, Europe in Africa in XlXth Century, p. 292. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 167 

€vei', had always been in favor of the colonization of the 
negro, and the first efforts in that direction had come 
from this State. The words of the Congressional com- 
mittee of 1827 sufficiently show this. ^'Anterior to the 
year 1806/' it says, "three several attempts to procure a 
country suited to this object had been secretly made by 
the General Assembly of Virginia, through a correspond- 
ence between the Executive of that State and the Presi- 
dent of the United States. The last, but, at the same time, 
the earliest public effort to attain this object, was made 
by the Legislature of the same State in December, 1816, 
some time before the formation, in the city of Washing- 
ton, of the American Society for Colonizing the Free Peo- 
ple of Color. The design of this institution, the committee 
are apprised, originated in the disclosure of the secret 
resolutions of prior Legislatures of that State, to which 
may also be ascribed, it is understood, the renewal of their 
obvious purpose in the resolution subjoined to this re- 
port,^ a resolution which was first adopted by the House 
of Delegates of Virginia on the 14th of December, 1816, 
with a unanimity which denoted the deep interest that it 
inspired, and which openly manifested to the world a 
steady adherence to the humane policy which had secretly 
animated the same councils at a much earlier period. 
This brief and correct history of the origan of the Ameri- 
can Colonization Society evinces that it sprang from a 
^ieep solicitude for Southern interests, and among those 
most competent to discern and to promote them." This 
sentiment remained unchanged after 18-31. 

Secondly, any free discussion or legislation in regard 
to slavery tended to arouse the slaves and create the 
•opinion that the South was alarmed, notwithstanding the 
fact that the Southampton tragedy convinced slave-hold- 

iThis resolution is to the House of Representatives, asking aid 
in suppressing the slave trade and in colonizing the free people 
-of color. 



168 THE SOUTHA^IPTON INSURRECTION. 

ers that a servile insurrection was henceforth impossible. 
In 1829 the negroes of Eastern Virginia had contemplated 
freeing themselves if the Constitutional Convention of 
that year failed to emancipate them. Hence it was that 
the Legislature referred all such questions to a select 
committee.^ Mr. Roan, a most earnest advocate of eman- 
cipation, exclaimed, when the matter had been unex- 
pectedly introduced: "I think and feel, sir, that this sub- 
ject has been most prematurely and injudiciously thrust 
upon the consideration of the House." Consequently, 
public sentiment, which was daily growing in favor of 
abolition, not having been sufficiently canvassed, the 
Legislature deemed it advisable to postpone all consid- 
eration of emancijjation and colonization to a more appro- 
priate occasion. 

Three-fourths of the session of the Legislature had been 
spent in fruitless discussion of emancipation and coloni- 
zation. Still, these discussions helped to allay the fears 
of the people and convinced them that a strict enforce- 
ment of existing laws, which, from a too strong sense of 
security, had not been insisted upon before, was more 
necessary than new legislation. Mr. Gray writes: "It 
(the insurrection) is calculated also to demonstrate the 
policy of our laws in restraint of that class of our popula- 
tion, and indufe all those entrusted with their execution, 
as w'ell as our citizens generallj^, to see that they are 
strictly and rigidly enforced. Each particular community 
should look to its own safety, whilst the general guar- 
dians of the laws keep a v/atchful eye over all." Conse- 
quently, a bill "To amend an act entitled an act to reduce 
into one the several acts concerning slaves, free negroes, 
and mulattoes, and for other purposes" was proposed and 
passed in order to render more accessible the laws on 

1 Secret diseussiou was legitimate and justified by tlie Consti- 
tution of the United States, Article I, Section 5, Clause 3. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 169 

slavery, as well as to add thereto the following new enact- 
ments. The bill provided that slaves and free negroes 
should not thereafter conduct religious services, nor could 
they attend meetings held at night by white preachers, 
unless with the written permission of master or overseer.^ 
It further provided that ''No free negro or mulatto shall 
hereafter be capable of purchasing or otherwise acquiring 
permanent ownership, except by descent, to any slave 
other than his or her husband, wife or children," and pre- 
scribed very rigid punishment for persons writing or 
printing anything advising persons of color to rebel.^ 
These enactments were not more stringent than measures 
adopted by preceding Legislatures. The Legislature of 
1830 and 1831 prohibited the instruction of mulattoes, 
free negroes, and slaves.' Henceforth there was a more 
guarded public, but the Legislature of 1831-32 was one of 
wisdom and moderation. Petitions were presented that 
slaves and free negroes be forbidden to own hogs, dogs, 
and other property, and that they be denied the privilege 
of becoming millers, mechanics, tradesmen, etc. These 
requests were rejected as being unnecessary and unbe- 
coming. The law providing for burning in the hand was 

iThis act did not interfere with religious meetings on the farm 
of the owner of the slaves. Slaves could also attend meetings in 
company with their owners, and without tliem, provided they 
had a written permission. Also certain worthy negroes continued 
to preach and conduct meetings. "Uncle Jack," of Amelia coun- 
ty, who, when a child, had been kidnaped in Africa and landed 
on James River from the last slave ship that landed its cargo in 
Virginia, held public meetings for negroes. Howe, History of 
Virginia, p. 174. At the present time the natives of South Africa 
are requii'ed to have passes, in default of which they may be 
detained on their journey. 

2Such laws had been passed by other States previous to 1831. 
Hurd, Freedom and Bondage, vol. II, p. 105. Not even Nat's 
confession to Mr. Gray could be sold in the South. 

3This did not apply to the gratuitous instruction of slaves by 
masters, nor did it prevent the private instruction of free blacks 
by other persons. Hurd, Ibid, vol. II. 



170 THE SOUTHAJVIPTON INSURRECTION. 

repealed, but a request for the repeal of the act providing 
for the payment of a condemned slave v^as refused on the 
ground that it was often a security for the just and im- 
partial trial of slaves. In all the slave States the same 
moderation was followed. This was partially due to the 
desire of avoiding all suspicion of action that might be 
used by the abolitionists as an argument for immediate 
emancipation. There was some further restrictive legis- 
lation, however. Thus Mr. Brackett says: "The (Mary- 
land) act of 1806, mild in its provisions and milder still 
in its results, might have remained long on the statute 
books had not the work of Nat Turner and his handful of 
followers in Virginia cast suspicion over the movements 
of the blacks far and wide."^ Many of the Southern States 
held Constitutional Conventions after 1831, and the free 
negroes, who previously had been allowed the right of 
suffrage, were deprived of it.- In the same spirit, the uni- 

iThe Negro in Maryland, p. 199. 

2Moore, History of North Carolina, vol. II, pp. 30-34. Mr. 
Moore says of the North Carolina Convention of 1885 and of the 
state of affairs then existing: "The relations between the two 
races constituting the population of North Carolina at the period 
to which reference is made were most unhappy and deplorable. 
The insurrection in the neighboring county of Southampton, in 
the State of Virginia, produced a lasting ti'ain of disagreeable 
and unfortunate consequences. * * * Jealousy and distrust 
took possession of the Southern white people. An Increasing fear 
and indiscriminate resentment disgraced localities far removed 
from and utterly unconnected with the scene of disturbance. Nat 
Turner's misdeeds silenced a thousand able orators, and, for 
many years, robbed African religious observances of much of 
their previous freedom and uproar. * * * Under the Constitu- 
tion of 1776 the free negroes of North Carolina had been permit- 
ted to vote. There was no provision in the origmal law which 
explicitly gave them this privilege, but after the Revolution they 
by degrees acquired the habit of voting. The best and most 
enlightened men of both parties vainly endeavored to continue 
the franchise to such as should possess a small freehold qualifi- 
cation; but this was rejected. The growing sectional feeling be- 
tween the North and the South deafened the ears and steeled the 
hearts of our people too often, when justice and mercy were in- 
dicating larger privilege and protection to the unhappy free 
blacks." 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 171 

versal opinion of the old slave is: "We would have been 
better off if the insurrection had never occurred." The 
most stringent legislation against the introduction of 
negroes and the circulation of incendiary publications 
was resor^ted to. But, on the whole, the words of Mr. 
Floyd may be applied to the period from 1831 to 1865, 
that, "These (negro preachers) our laws have heretofore 
treated with indulgent kindness, and many instances of 
solicitude for the negroes have marked the progress of 
legislation." 

Previous to 1831 colonization societies had been active, 
not only in transporting free negroes, but also in inducing 
masters to free their slaves. In 1829 Mr. Monroe said: 
"The American Colonization Society has, at all times, 
solemnly disavowed any purpose of interfering with the 
institutions or rights of our Southern communities. By 
the soundest and most judicious minds of our country it 
has, however, been regarded as developing and demon- 
strating the practicableness and utility of a plan which 
commends itself as worthy of adoption to those indi- 
^iduals and States who desire not only to benefit the free 
people of color, while they relieve themselves by their 
removal, but also to diminish and finally eradicate what 
all sober and unprejudiced minds regard as the greatest 
of our national evils, the system of slavery." These 
societies disappeared from the North, anti-slavery socie- 
ties taking their place, and in the South their principles 
were changed, by the increase of abolition literature, now 
supported by an abolition press, issuing the Liberator, the 
African Sentinel and the Genius of Universal Emancipa- 
tion. Dr. Brock says: "Through the discord produced by 
these incendiaries nearly three years elapsed before the 
Colonization Society of Virginia had another meeting."' 
But the South was the more resolved upon transportation, 
though its efforts were confined to the removal of the 
free people of color and not of slaves. At a meeting in 



1T2 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

January, 1832, the Virginia Colonization Society "Re- 
solved, That this society deems it expedient at this time 
to renew its pledges to the public strictly to adhere to 
the original feature in the constitution, which confines its 
operations to the remoA^al of the free people of color only 
with their consent." The Junior Colonization Society 
iuduced the General Assembly in 1833 to appropriate 
118,000 annually for five years for the removal of free 
blacks to Liberia. In 1850, on the recommendation of Mr, 
Floyd, President of the Virginia Colonization Society, 
$30,000 per annum for five years were appropriated for 
this purpose, and in 1853 a colonization board was estab- 
lished and the above amount continued for five years.^ 
The Virginia Colonization Society colonized from one to 
two hundred negroes per year until the outbreak of the 
War of 18f)l. The Richmond Whig, commenting upon the 
hostility of the abolitionists to the colonization societies, 
said: ''Another revolution of public sentiment almost as 
i-emarkable and much more intelligible has occurred in 
the South in respect to the African colonization. The 
original opponents in that quarter of the Union have gen- 
erally grounded their arms. This opposition has been 
i^ubdued by reason and experience. They have seen suc- 
cess crown the undertaking. They behold the great good 
it is efi'ecting to both races, and they have been convinced 
and converted. It is for that reason that the fanatics have 
thrown themselves against it. In expended, progressive, 
and permanent benefit to the human race we believe it the 
master scheme of this or any other age." Thus very 
appropriately might ex-Governor Wise say, in 1840: 
"Africa gave to Virginia a savage and a slave; Virginia 
gives back to Africa a citizen and a Christian." 

iPrivate persons freed their negroes and made provision for 
their removal to Liberia. Also private contributions were made 
to the Colonization Society. Southampton aided 200 negroes to 
emigrate in 1S31. .Tohn Randolph, of Roanolce, freed his slaves 
in ISoU and bequeathed .$30,000 for their transportation to Ohio. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 173 

In the North the immediate effect of the insurrection 
was a state of affairs similar to that in the South, a more 
pronounced conviction of the evils of slavery. But the 
South had to adapt herself to existing circumstances, 
while in the North a spirit of imagined philanthropy 
endeavored to force the South to the immediate abolition 
of slavery. There existed an honest conviction that the 
South was opposed to emancipation, and that the South- 
ampton massacre was the result of the harsh treatment 
of the slaves. William Lloyd Garrison, commenting on 
the Governor's proclamation for the arrest of Nat Turner, 
said: "How wonder at his determined efforts to avenge 
his wrongs, when he had a scar on his temple, also one 
on the hack of his neck, and a large knot on one of the 
bones of his right arm near the wrist, produced by 
blows ?''^ These misrepresentations had the desired effect 
in the North, but in the South it was the opposite. Mr. 
Howison says: ''The idea of general emancipation had 
many supporters, and nothing but the sinister influences 
from abroad prevented its triumph." So Mr. Alexander ■ 
writes:^ ''Alarm and indignation spread throughout the /\ 
Southern country like an electric spark. The effect on the 
people of the South in regard to slavery was the very 
opposite of that aimed at; sentiments more favorable to 
the continuance and even perpetuity of slavery began 
now to be commonly entertained, whereas before such 
sentiments were scarcely ever heard."^' "From the year 

iNat confessed to the kind treatment of bis master. The scar 
on his neck was produced by a bite from one of his companions, 
the one on his temple from a mule kick, and the knot on his arm 
was due to another fray with a ne£?ro.— Richmond Enquirer, Oc- 
tober 25, 1831. 

^African Colonization, p. 383. ' ' ' 

sNegroes had been introduced into Virginia against her wishes. 
O'Callaghan says: "To the Dutch undoubtedly belongs the ques- 
tionable distinction of having firet introduced negro slaves into 
the colonies, now the United States of America." If by "slaves" 
negro servants are meant, this is true. Even Williams, the negro 



174 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

1776,-' says Dr. Brock, *'the prevalent opinion in Vir- 
ginia was that slavery was not entailed on the State 
forever. Until 1831 (the date of the rise of the bitter 
abolition crusade) none of her economists, with the excep- 
tion of William B. Giles, had defended it as an abstract 
right. The opinion of Washington, Mason, Jefferson, 
Monroe, Marshall, the Randolphs, and, indeed, of all of 
her leading statesmen of the era are well known and had 
been frequently expressed. Schemes of general emanci- 
pation of the slaves of Virginia were proposed to the 
Legislature by Jefferson in 1776, by William Craighead, 
Dr. William Thornton in 1785, St. George Tucker in 1796, 
Thomas Jefferson Randolph in 1832, and by others." 
Now, however, he thinks ''Sentiments more favorable to 
the perpetuity of slavery began now to be commonly 
entertained."^ 

The Southampton massacre increased the number of 

historian, by no means the apologist of Virginians, concedes that 
"It is due to the Virginia Colony to say that the slaves were 
forced upon them; that white servitude was common." Far from 
being an advocate of slavery, she furnished "the first man who 
ever lifted up his voice against the African slave trade," Rev. 
Morgan Godwin, a minister of the Church of England in Virginia 
during the administration of Governor Berkley. He afterward 
went from Virginia to the Barbadoes, where "he fought a good 
fight for the negro and the Indian in the face of fierce opposition." 
Ballagh, Conservative Review, August, 1S99, "Institutional Ori- 
gin of Slavery." O'Callaghan, Voyages of the Slaves; Introduc- 
tion, pp. 6-8. George W. Williams, History of the Negro Race in 
America. Slaughter's Colonial Church of Virginia, p. 40. Clark- 
son, History of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, vol. I, p. 46. 

iBut this must not be taken in the extreme sense. It was a 
sentiment in favoa- of the perpetuity of slaverj'^ rather than of be- 
ing forced to submit to the evils of the "petting" system of the 
extreme sentimentalists, by which the inferior race was spoiled 
and delayed in their progress toward civilization. The evils of 
this system have been too well illustrated in more recent troubles 
in y^juliiland. South Africa. Mr. Knox Little, Canon of Worcester, 
England, says: "Besides the mischievous influences of Bisihop 
Colenso on the church of South Africa, his sentimental and ab- 
surd views as to the Zultis did great harm and are crucial ex- 
amples of this kind of tone." South Africa, p. 294. 



TPIE SOUTHAISIPTON INSURRECTION. 175 

fanatics, and, together with the British statute which 
set free 800,000 negroes within a few miles of our Atlan- 
tic coast, produced the most profound impression upon 
the citizens of all sections of the country. This was the 
second great body of negroes which had been freed within 
sight of the southern shores of the United States. The 
abolitionists immediately sent agents to England to 
import more orators and to further arouse the British 
officials near the coasts of the United States. The Legis- 
latures of several of the Southern States were assembled 
several months before the usual time to take measures 
against these dangers, and to prevent the introduction of 
vicious negroes from other States.^ Southern towns insti- 
tuted the custom of ringing ''curfew" at nine o'clock in the 
evening, after which no negro was allowed abroad without 
a pass, and this custom was continued until the war be- 
tween the States. Fifteen years later a distinguished 
English traveler wrote: "Every evening at nine o'clock a 
great bell, or curfew, tolls in the market-place of Mont- 
gomery, after which no colored man is permitted to be 
abroad v/ithout a pass. This custom has, I understand, 
continued ever since some formidable insurrections which 
happened several years ago in Virginia and elsewhere.''^ 
In October, 1833, Judge A. P. Upshur, of Northampton 
county, afterward Secretary of State of the United States, 
wrote to the Governor: ''Indeed, the protection uniformly 
afforded by individuals and private societies in the North 
to fugitive slai'es from the South is too notorious to be 
denied, and presents, as it seems to me, a fit occasion for 
the interference of the aggrieved States. It is perfectly 
certain that unless this abuse can, in some mode or other, 
be speedily corrected, the eastern shore of Virginia, afford- 
ing as it does, and must continue to do by its very posi- 

iNiles Register, Dewmber 1. 18.31. 

2Lyeirs Travels in the Uuitecl St.ites, vol. ii, p. 43. 



176 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

tion, every facility for the escape of slaves, will soon be 
wholly without that species of property. The impoverish- 
ment and ruin of the people will be the necessary conse- 
quences. It is obvious that the exertions of the indi- 
vidual owners can effect very little in reclaiming these 
slaves from communities organized against their rights. 
Hence, almost every attempt of that kind has not only 
failed of success, but has subjected the party to public 
insult and personal danger. Their best hoi)e, and, indeed, 
their only hope, must be found in the interference of the 
public authorities of our States." In September of the 
following year a suspicious character made his appear- 
ance at Fairfax Court House. He told the negroes that 
he had persuaded the negroes of Prince William and other 
counties to make an effort for freedom, saying openly: 
"If you will only be true you can get free." Several 
negroes were arrested and examined. Thy stated that he 
gave them money, and told them that he had plenty of 
arms and ammunition. This white fanatic became 
alarmed and fled to Alexandria. He told the negroes and 
a white woman, however, that he would return in two 
weeks, and appointed a place two miles from the court- 
house at which they were to assemble. 

These agents increased, became more daring, and 
flooded the country with inflammatory and incendiary 
publications. In 1.835, at Charleston, the postoffice was 
so flooded with such papers that the people forced the 
postmaster to destroy them. In response to the latter's 
appeal for orders, the Postmaster General replied: "By 
no act or direction of mine, official or private, could I be 
induced to aid knowingly in giving circulation to papers 
of this description, directly or indirectly." And he further 
said that he would not sanction and would not condemn 
the course the postmaster had taken in refusing to deliver 
certain mail matter. Likewise, in Richmond. Virginia, and 
in other places, the people invoked the aid of the Post- 
master General to such an extent that President Jackson's 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 177 

message of 18.35 protested against the abolition societies, 
and recommended that Congress forbid the carrjdng by 
the United States mails of documents calculated to arouse 
the evil passions of the slaves and to produce insurrection 
among them.^ The following letter iwill indicate the 
strength of the abolition and British influence upon the 
negroes in 1840. Mr. John E. Page, of Clarke county, Vir- 
ginia, wrote to the Governor: "You have, as I have been 
informed, received from my brother. Dr. Page, of North 
Carolina, a narrative of an outrage recently committed 
upon a party, of whom I was one, at Chippewa, Canada, 
by a company of negro troops in the British service and 
wearing British uniforms. It is proper that I should cor- 
roborate the statement referred to and adopt it as my 
own, and, as a citizen of Virginia, request any action on 
the part of Your Excellency which in your judgment shall 
seem proper. While Englishmen travel by thousands 
through Virginia, and are received with a courtesy faulty 
only in its excess, citizens of Virginia and of the South 
cannot go to Canada without meeting at its very threshold 
outrages from an armed band of negroes, who are doubt- 
less for the most part fugitives from the Southern States, 
and whose very organization as a British corps is an 

3 It was in the same year that several members of Congress took 
measures to destroy the anti-slavery societies in order that the 
mistaken philanthropists might be separated from the reckless 
fanatic and the incendiary, and an end be put to publications 
and petitions whicli, vv'hatever their design, would have uo other 
effect than to impede the object which they involved and to aggra- 
vate the evil which they deplored. Pictures of slave degradation 
and misery, and of the white man's luxury and cruelty were 
exhibited. It is weU to note one of these pictures sent Mr. Benton 
in 1835. It was an engraving representing a large, spreading 
tree of liberty, beneath whose shade a slave owner was at one 
time luxuriously reposing, with slaves fanning him; at another, 
carried forth in a palanquin to view the half-naked laborers in 
the cotton field, whom drivers, with whips, were scourging to 
their task. Benton. Thirty Years in the United States Senate, 
vol. I, p. 377. 



178 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

insult to our Southern institutions." The state of affairs 
grew worse. In 1845 the Governor of Ohio threatened to 
invade Virginia to release a prisoner captured in the very 
act of inducing slaves to flee from their masters. The 
Southern people felt that these evils must be remedied, 
and for this purpose the Grovernor of Virginia, in 1856, 
wrote to the Governors of the Southern States: "Events 
are approaching which address themselves to your 
responsibilities and to mine as chief executives of the 
slave-holding States. Contingencies may soon happen 
which would require preparation for the worst of evils 
to the people we govern. Ought we not to admonish our- 
selves by joint counsel of the extraordinary duties which 
may devolve upon us from the dangers which so palpably 
threaten our common peace and safety? I propose that 
as early as convenient the Governors of Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, etc., shall assemble at Raleigh, N. C, for the pur- 
pose generally of consultation upon the state of the coun- 
(ry, upon the best means of preserving its peace, and espe- 
cially of protecting the honor and interests of the slave- 
holding States." 

As peddlers, booksellers, etc., abolitionists traversed 
all Virginia during the years preceding the war between 
the States, and, though mere agents, were received with 
much hospitality. John E. Cook, the brother-in-law of 
Governor Willard, of Indiana, and one of the principal 
lieutenants of John Brown, was especially active as a 
book agent. He is said to have visited Southampton, and 
in the early autumn of 1858 he went to the home of Dr. 
Thomas Maddox, in the Tilghmanton district, of Wasliing- 
ton county, and sold a copy of Headley's "Life of Wash- 
ington." Fie said his name was S. Stearns, and asked to 
stay all night, which request was cheerfully complied 
with. At supper he asked an inordinately long "grace," 
and after the meal disappeared for several hours. It was 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 179 

afterward learned that he had been in the kitchen urging 
the slaves to kill their master to gain their freedom, but 
the proposition was resented with horror by the slaves. 
So great was the strength of the abolition movement 
in 1860 that even the Northern Methodists and other reli- 
gious sects in Virginia held secret meetings with the 
negroes in attempts to incite them to rebellion. Rev. E. 
D. Neill, the historian, was teaching on the eastern shore 
of Virginia and fled in fear of being tarred and feathered 
for attending such meetings.^ 

After 1831 the public was very sensitive to the least 
suspicion of servile revolt. Every August the alarm was 
given and the people rushed headlong to the swamps, 
the negroes as well as the whites, each household trusting 
the fidelity of its own, but suspecting that of the other 
slaves of the neighborhood. In December, 1856, the peo- 
ple of Fauquier, King and Queen, Culpeper and Rappa- 
hannock counties, and Lynchburg, Gordonsville and 
Petersburg were aroused by the report that the negroes 
were in a state of rebellion. Such reports were frequent 
and kept the people constantly on the alert. The John 
Brown raid, in 1859, encouraged by external aid and sym- 
pathy, proves how well grounded was this suspicion. It 
was believed that the raid was a general insurrection 
of the negroes, headed by 250 abolitionists, and the num- 
ber of the raiders was not known until they were cap- 
tured. The ready response of the State militia, however, 
and the loyalty of the slaves on this occasion and 

iProbably this accounts for his hostility to Virginia in his His- 
tory of the London Company. He afterwards became secretary 
to President Lincoln and later still a foreign Minister. These 
speeches and pictures appealed not to the understanding of the 
slaves, but to their passions; inspired vague hopes and stimulated 
abortive and fatal insurrections, since they could only understand 
the anti-slavery societies as allies, organized for action and ready 
to march to their aid on the first sign of insurrection. 



180 THE SOUTHAlVrPTON INSURRECTION. 

throughout the war between the States demonstrate the 
efficiency of the slave legislation necessitated by the in- 
surrection of 1831. But the insurrection is still remem- 
bered, and reports even now of an intended "rising" of 
the negroes are not uncommon.^ 

iln 1890 a letter from one negro to another detailing a well- 
planned plot was found in Franklin, Southampton county. 
Troops from Suffolk, Portsmouth and Norfolk held themselves in 
readiness to march at the first notification from telegraph opera- 
tors, who remained at their posts the entire night. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CONCLUSION. • 

The Southampton insurrection was a landmark in the 
history of slavery. Little was known of it on account of 
the suppression by the Southern States of all such reports 
as were likely to arouse an insurrectionary spirit and 
because of exaggerated accounts given in the North.^ It 
was the forerunner of the great slavery debates which 
resulted in the abolition of slavery in the United States, 
and was, indirectly, most instrumental in bringing about 
this result. Its importance is truly conceived by the 
old negroes of Southampton and vicinity, who reckon all 
time from "Nat's Fray," or "Old Nat's War."^ It is, in 
fact, the only plot by rebellious Southern negroes which 
deserves the name of insurrection. More negroes were 
connected with the Gabriel insurrection, but they were 
discovered, dispersed, and their leader executed without 
the loss of one white person. Both were influenced by the 
attempts of former insurgent slaves, but the Southamp- 
ton rebellion was directly encouraged by the abolition 
movement in the United States, while Gabriel met with 
encouragement only from foreigners. The two insurrec- 
tions also agree in that, in both, religious fanaticism and 

iSome years since a Philadelphia papei' stated that General 
George H. Thomas when a friendless, ragged and homeless boy 
was taken by Nat Turner to Washington and procured a com- 
mission to West Point. The General's sister, Miss Judith, re- 
plied: "Your statement is a lie. General Thomas had many 
friends, a comfortable home and a native State until he deserted 
ihem." 

2Thomas Nelson Page tells of a fox which was noted for his 
shrewdness in aA^oiding the hunters. In consequence of this he 
was called "Nat Turner." Social Life in Virginia, p. 70. 



182 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSUBREOTION. 

delusion played a very Important role. The true character 
of the negro and the nature of the institution of slavery 
in the American colonies and States can best be learned 
from a thoroug'h study of slave revolts. 

It continues a mystery why so few slave revolts 
occurred in the United States. Mr. Alexander Johnson 
says the reason could not have been due to the gentle- 
ness of the slave system, as it was increasing in its oppres- 
sions, nor to the affection of the slave for the master, nor 
the cowardice of the negro, as there have been cases when 
the negroes have proved themselves as brave as any peo- 
ple; but he insists that it is because ^'the race, by long 
contact with the white race, has imbibed something of 
that respect for law which has always characterized the 
latter, so that the negroes, however enterprising, when 
backed by the forms of law, patiently submitted to legal 
servitude.'-^ This statement is contradictory and incon- 
sistent with known facts. The first recorded instance of a 
negro rebellion in the United States took place in Massa- 
chusetts, where, if anywhere, law and order should have 
been effective, and the instances of insubordination 
among the negroes before 1865 were, in proportion to the 
population of blacks in the two sections, far more numer- 
ous in the free than in the slave States. In September of 
the year of the Southampton insurrection a serious race 
war occurred in Providence, Rhode Island. Begun by a row 
between seven white men and a few negroes, it continued 
for four consecutive days, and was not suppressed until 
three companies oij infantry, one of cavalry, and one of 
artillery, besides the cadets of the town, had been called 
out. The Southampton insurrection is the only recorded 
instance in the South of a servile insurrection deserving 
the name. Including individual cases of the murder of a 
master or mistress, not more than one hundred people in 

iLalor's Encyclopedia, "Slave Insurrections." 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 183 

A'irginia suffered death at the hands of rebellious slaves. 
The instances of negro riots have been more frequent a.nd 
more successful since than before 1865, as is too well 
shown by the negro riots of Darien, Georgia, and by recent 
outrages in other Southern States, as well as in the West- 
ern State of Illinois. The hostile spirit of the Butler Zou- 
aves, who threatened to visit Warrenton in spite of the 
opposition of the Mayor of the town and the Governor of 
the State, illustrates the present feeling of numbers of 
the young blacks. The Richmond Dispatch of September 
20, 1899, says: "The patience of the Southern people has 
been sorely tried for a year or two past, and there is no 
telling what extreme measures may have to be resorted to 
unless a better condition is brought about." Nor are these 
signs more evident in the South than in the North. On 
the other hand, the white race is becoming more law- 
abiding. In spite of the Mafia riot of New Orleans and 
others of more recent date, there are no upheavals of 
Avhites to be compared to Bacon's rebellion, the rebellion 
•of the indented servants of Virginia in 1663, Dorr's, 
Shays', the Whisky rebellion, or the revolt along the Ches- 
apeake and Ohio canal in 18.38, all of which occurred in 
the palmiest days of slavery. Still there were few signs 
of discontent among the negroes. The explanation is 
that the blacks as slaves were improved in station and 
opportunities of life. They were not only civilized and 
Christianized, but they were taught manual labor, as well 
as given a plain, practical education, now important in 
the solution of the race problem in the United States, 
together with colonization. Booker Washington, the 
most intelligent representative of his race, recognizes this 
fact. Mr. James Bryce, the historian, says of the negroes 
of South Africa: "Manual education and the habit of 
steady industry are quite as much needed as book educa- 
tion, a conclusion at which the friends of the American 



184 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

negro have arrived.''^ Nor were the slaves addicted to 
passion, pillage, and theft as the modern negroes of 
America are. The negroes of Africa are said to be free 
from these as natural inclinations. This would seem to 
indicate that the negro, enjoying equal political rights 
with a superior race, is worse than in his native state. 
They realized their inferiority and were ready to learn, 
and were conscious of a desire on the part of the masters 
to supply their every want.^ The masters were lenient, 
and only became more rigid when external forces ren- 
dered it necessary. Thus there sprang up a devotion 
between master and slave which increased from year to 
3'ear. And after the war of secession Gen. J. B. Gordon 
wrote: ''History records no instance of such disinterested 
loyalty. Though they had heard of the proclamation of 
their freedom, yet they protected and supported these 
defenseless women and children and committed no out- 
rage.''^ This was the case, notwithstanding the fact that 

lit is (he general couseiisus of opinioa that the negro carpen- 
ters, mechanics, etc., trained in. slavery are more skilled than 
those who have acquired their trades since 1865. This is partly 
due to the fact that the negro of today, being self -dependent, can- 
not afford to spend a sufficient time at apprenticeship. 

2"Had the African been left like the Indian, in his native fi-ee> 
dom, his would have been the fate of the Indian. But in the mys- 
terious Providence of God the African was 'bound to the care of 
the Anglo-American, 'who has borne him along with him in bis up- 
ward career, protecting his weakness and providing for his wants. 
Accordingly he has grown with our growth and strengthened 
with our strength, until he is numbered by millions instead of 
scores. In the mean time tlie black man has been trained in the 
habits, manners and acts of civilized life, been taught the Chris- 
tian religion and been gradually rising in the intellectual and 
moral order, until he is far above his race in tlieir native seats. 
In these facts we see traces of an all-wise Providence in permit- 
ting the black man to be brought here and subjected to the disci- 
pline of slavery tempered by Christianity and regulated by law. 
A'erily, if there had been no other end of such a procedure, the 
seeming sharp Providence of God would have been highly justi- 
lied." Slaughter's Virginia History of African Colonization, p 4. 

sReport of Committee of Congress on Outrages, vol. VI, p. 334. 



THE SOUTHAJNIPTON INSURRECTION. 185 

news traveled amcmg the slaves rapidl}- and mysteriously. 
Mrs. Latimer says of Stanley's trip through Africa: "In- 
formation seemed to travel among the natives rapidly and 
mysteriously, as it used to do during our Civil War among 
the negroes."^ Such was the contentment of all classes of 
negroes then that free negroes as well as slaves offered 
their services as soldiers in the Confederate army.- And 
Southern statesmen were considering the question of 
employing them when the war was hastened to a close. 
The slaves were employed in minor capacities. They 
acted as spies, built fortifications, and cared for the com- 
fort of their masters, yet few fled to the Federal army.^ 
A company, organized from the employees of Winder Hos- 
pital, near Richmond, in the winter of 1864-65, acquired 
some proficiency in drill and appeared to be impressed 
with the common sentiment of their masters.* 

Fear and want of organization, it is true, acted as a 
great restraint against servile insurrections. But this does 
not argue that the negro, under all circumstances, is a 
coward. Inspired by motives of love and affection, he is 
bra^'e. In the Southampton insurrection the deeds of 
bravery of the slaves exceeded those of cowardice, but in- 
variably those deeds were in defense of the helpless whites 
against the cowardice of their own race. Truthfully does 
Mr. Johnson say that the slave was inspired with a respect 
for law, but this respect was the result, not merely of long 
contact with the white race, but of the lessons of love, 
obedience, and confidence learned from kind, lenient, but 
positive masters. Considering these facts the most natu- 

lEurope in Africa in the XlXlh Century, p. 161. 

sGovernoi's' Letters. 

"Fifteen or t\Yenty slaves fled to Jamestown Island, and mur- 
dered three white men. But they were not organized and had no 
insurrectionary motives. They remained a few days in feasting 
and then fled to the Federal array at "Williamsburg. 

4Brock, Virginia Historical Collections, vol. YI. 



186 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURREOTIOX. 

ral conclusion is that the North American institution of 
slavery produced a more obedient and law-abiding citizen 
than the modern free negro seems to be. 

The emancipation of the slaves in 1865 was not a result 
of fear of servile insurrection nor of unanimity of North- 
ern sentiment favoring it.^ Servile insurrection tended to 
delay rather than quicken emancipation. The causes of 
the war between the States were far different from those 
generally assigned for it. The North and South were essen- 
tially on the same platform in regard to whether States 
might withdraw from the Union and whether the slaves 
should be emancipated. In the North as well as in the 
South there was a widespread conviction that the coer- 
cion of a State into the Union and the abolition of slavery 
by the Federal Government were violations of the Fed- 
eral Constitution. At the outset the President, Congress, 
and the Supreme Court disavowed all such intentions, 
and the beginning of the war would have been doubtful 
had a different purpose been evinced. In Cincinnati, in 
Chicago, in Boston, and elsewhere demonstrations unfa- 
vorable to the Administration at Washington were put 
down before coming to a head.- Dr. Charles L. C. Minor 
says: ''When a delegation urged Mr. Lincoln to emanci- 
pate the negroes by proclamation, he expressed the appre- 
hension that if he should do as they wished fifty thousand 
rifles from the border States, then serving in the army of 
the Union, might go over to the opposing side. In Mc- 
Clure's Magazine for May, 1899, Miss Tarbell tells us that 
Mr. Lincoln said that if he should enlist negroes in his 
army, two hundred thousand muskets that he had put 
into the hands of the border States men would be turned 
against the Union army. There was actual danger of 
revolt in the army against the emancipation proclama- 

iJohnson, A Short History of the War of Secessiou, pp. 11, 20. 
2MarshaJl, American Bastile, p. 606, etc. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 187 

tion when Burnside turned, over his army to Hooker." 
General Rosecrans reported to Washington the existence 
in the West of secret orders of men bound by oath to 
co-operate with the Confederates to the number of four 
hundred thousand men.^ So in New York city the people 
defied the Federal Government for six days and stopped 
the drafting of soldiers until veterans from the Army of 
the Potomac interfered. Gorham, the latest biographer 
of Secretary Stanton, says that had Gettysburg resulted 
differently New York would have made no submission. 
In spite of this defeat of the Confederates, however, there 
was further resistance in New York to Federal authority. 
As late as June, 1864, Mr. Lincoln's emancipation procla- 
mation failed to get in Congress the necessary two-thirds 
vote, and had to go over to the next session, when the 
war was practically over. In August of the same year 
Mr. Lincoln wrote to a friend a letter, in which he made 
several proposals for peace, but failed to mention slavery.* 
The Democratic candidate for President in 1864, General 
McClellan, received 81 per cent, of the votes of Mr. Lin- 
coln,^ notwithstanding the fact that soldiers were on duty 
at the polls,* and that, by order of the War Department, 
criticism of the Administration had been made treason, 
triable by court-martial.^ The English Minister threat- 
ened interference by England on account of the formi- 
dable opposition manifested to the war in the Northern 

iNleolay and Hjty, in "Life of Lincoln," mention tliis organiza- 
tion, but say 350,000 was an exaggeration of ttiis number. 

2This letter was never sent. 

3This fact was collected by Provost R. P. Uhler, of the Pea- 
body Library, from Edward Stanwood, who gathered it from 
"McPherson's Political Handbook." McPherson was Clerk of the 
House of Representatives when the oflflcial count was verified 
in the joint session of Congress. 

•tStanwood's History of the Presidency, p. 30i. 

"iStanwood's History of the Presidency, p. 304. Mar^shall's 
American Bastile, pp. 5-11, etc.; 717-728. 



188 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

States, but Mr. Seward replied: ''By toucihing this little 
bell I can imprison a man in Maine. By touching it 
again I can imprison a man in California." President 
Andrews, of Brown University, as well as other distin- 
guished Northern hitetorians, concedes that abolition was 
opiJO'Sed by an overwhelming majority of the Northern 
people, not only before, but during the entire war, and 
as long as opposition to it was safe.^ 

Likewise, there was a strong sentiment in the South in 
favor of abolition and opposed to secession. Dr. J. M. 
Callahan ?;ays: ''In Virginia especially we see a strong 
sentiment in favor of emancipation," Though it is not 
true, as stated by General Wheeler, that as many men 
went from the South into the Northern armies as into the 
Southern, yet many leading Southerners, as Gen. George 
H. Thomas, did, and many others took up arms against 
the Uuion only when President Lincoln made the mistake 
of his life in calling for volunteers.'- They believed coer- 
cion a violation of the Constitution and secession an un- 
wise step, but preferred the latter to the former. Various 
j)lans were proposed by Confederate statesmen for the 
emancipation of the slaves and their enlistment in the 
army, and the foreign Ministers were instructed to recom- 
mend emancipation if necessary. As in the war with 
Spain the annexation of the Philippines was not the end 
originally contemplated, so in the war of 1861 emancipa- 
rion was a war measure and not the result of a general 
conviction of the evils of slavery or of slave insurrection, 

il am much indebted to Dr. C. L. C. Minor for suggestions on 
tliis paragrapli. His article, "Hopeless from the Beginning," 
published in the Norfolk Landmark of September 10, 1899, is ex- 
cellent on this subject. 

2lt is doubtful if North Carolina and Virginia would have se- 
ceded if he had not made this call. In this case secession would 
have been only tem])orary separation, and on the return of the 
seceding States a more centralized government, as at present, 
would probably have been the result. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 189 

though John Brown's raid took place only a few years 
previous to this event. 

History records no instance in which two races equally 
free have lived together in harmony. The Anglo-Boer 
dispute in the Transvaal is a question of race supremacy, 
and Sir Alfred Milner, the British Oommissioner in South 
Africa, says: ''It seems a paradox, but it is true that 
the only effective way of protecting our subjects is to help 
them to cease to be our subjects." Mr. Jefferson said 
that the negro and white races, equally free, could not live 
under the same government. They cannot amalgamate 
and solve the question as did Greece and Rome. Conse- 
quently, either the negro must be colonized or occupy an 
inferior position.^ But that the negroes may occupy an 
inferior position in the United States, they must be 
■equally distributed in all sections of the country. Other- 
wise in those sections farthest removed there will exist 
sympathy for the negro, and a misconception and mis- 
representation of the relation of the two races. The 
whites of the North and West believe the negro is cheated 

iThe relation of the whites and blaclis of South Africa serves 
as an illustration of the only condition under which an inferior 
and a superior race can live peacefully together. The blacks are 
a necessary part of the economic machinery of the country for 
mining, manufactm-ing, tillage or ranching. They perform the 
menial services, and are allowed many privileges. Many of them 
have amassed fortunes, and all enjoy equal religious privileges 
with the whites. But politically and socially the negro is the infe- 
rior of the white man. He has never held political rights in the 
Dutch Republics. The Dutch would scout such an idea and even 
reproach the English of Cape Colony with being "governed by 
black men." Among the other nations both property and educa- 
tional requirements are necessary for the right of suffrage, which 
requirements are abused to defraud the negro equally as much 
as in the Southern States of America. Khama. a Chi-istian Afri- 
can chief, was entertained in England by the Duke of Westmin- 
ster and others. This greatly excited the indignation of the 
white population of South Africa. The native Afi-icans recognize 
their inferiority, and consequently the two races live in harmony. 
Never has the negro been considered socially and politically equal 
by any race among whom he dwelt. 



190 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

and persecuted. In many seotions it is actually believed 
that rejected lovers in the South black themselves and 
commit the outrages so frequently perpetrated by 
negroes. So far the two races have lived in the South 
as equals before the law, because the majority of the 
negroes remain conscious of the superiority of the white 
race. For this reason negro labor has been preferred to 
white. The negro gladly accepts gifts in the form of 
food, old clothes, etc, and performs menial services, as 
cook, coachman, and servant of every description. Custom 
and habit exclude the poor whites of the South from such 
offices. In this way the negroes are rapidly acquiring 
property which, together with the free schools, supported 
principally by the whites, free amusement, and cheap 
newspapers, enables them to give their children educa- 
tions equal to that of the ordinary whites, while the 
poorer whites are unable to secure even common-school 
education. Consequently, the number of servants in the 
South is gradually decreasing, and the white people learn- 
ing to perform for themselves the ordinary services. But 
this education of the negro, which fits him for the highest 
offices in the land, renders him a useless and discontented' 
citizen. The whites cannot submit to negro rule and self- 
assertion. With the negroes equally distributed over the 
Union, this could be easily avoided. But so long as they 
remain with equal citizenship in the South they will con- 
^ tinue a burden to themselves and to the white popula- 
tion. The South will remain the "Solid South" and pre- 
fer exclusion from national offices rather than allow the 
State offices to fall into the hands of negroes. 

For this reason the colonization of the negro beyond the 
limits of the United States has ever found many support- 
ers in Virginia, as well as elsewhere. Mr. Monroe, who 
was the strong exponent of the Virginia sentiment for 
emancipation, said that he would never consent to the 
freedom of the slaves unless they were moved bevond the 



THE SOTJTHAIMPTON INSURRECTION. 191 

limits of this country. President Lincoln also agitated 
the question of colonizing the negro, and it would appear 
from his messages that he intended this as a sequel to the 
emancipation proclamation. In accordance with this, his 
recommendation made appropriations for this purpose. 
After the war many negroes petitioned Congress to aid 
them to migrate to Liberia.^ But this spirit has died out 
and the negroes are becoming more organized. The state 
of affairs in Cuba forecasts a repetition of the scenes of 
1831, only in a more pronounced form. Quintin Baudera, 
a negro general of prominence in the eastern province, 
has decided to found in Santiago a newspaper organ de- 
voted to promoting the political interests of the negro 
military element, while Juan Guilberto Gomez, the ablest 
and most aggressive of the negro politicians of Cuba, has 
publicly severed his connection with the so-called Na- 
tional party and announced that he will head a new organ- 
ization recruited chiefly from the negro officers and pri- 
vates, who, it is claimed, bore the burden of insurrection 
against Spain. Such a claim will undoubtedly be made 
by the negro soildiers in the service of the United States. 
In this state of affairs the future is more to be feared 
than the present, and we have the same problem before 
us that confronts South Africa. Mr. Bryce's words are 
equally applicable to the Southern States of Amer'ica. 
'*No traveler," he says, "can study the color problem in 
South Africa without anxiety — anxiety not for the pres- 
ent, but for the future, in which the seeds that are now 
being sown will have sprung up and grown to maturity."^' 
A careful consideration of present conditions in compari- 
son with the history of slave insurrections leads to the 
conclusion that the colonization of the negro beyond the 
limits of the United States is the only means by which 

1 Sixty-second Annua! Report of the American Colonization 
Society, in 1879. 

2lmpress)ons of South Africa, Chapter XXI. 



192 THE SOUTHAjMPTON INSURRECTION. 

hostility, strife, and insurrection can be avoided. In con- 
clusion, the following considerations may be submitted: 

First. The possibility and danger of negro insurrection 
are largely responsible for the suppression of the slave 
trade^ and the substitution of negro slavery for negro 
ser\atude. The negroes at first enjoyed the same rights 
and privileges as the white indented servants,^ with the 
exception of the possibility of social distinction and amal- 
gamation with the white inhabitants. The Indians, Eng- 
lish, French, and native whites of bad character took 
advantage of these facts to stir up discontent among the 
servants as well as the free negroes. Consequently, strin- 
gent legislation, which gradually led to the enslavement 
of the negro was necessary to put an end to such evils.' 

Second. The condition, of slavery in Virginia was not 
such as to arouse insurrections among the slaves. An 
affection existed between master and slave which has 
been handed down to their descendants, which dispelled 
that physical aversion and incompatibility of character 
and temper of the superior race for the inferior, stopped 
internecine wars, and prevented the general tendency of 
civilization to gradually blot out the inferior race. By 
this means alone has the perpetuity of the negro race 
been assured. Not one insurrection was due to cruel 
treatment or inbred desire for freedom. 

Third. Superstition, religious fanaticism, and love of 
plunder and pillage have played a part in every slave 
insurrection in Virginia. Delusion has always been active. 
The weak and cowardly have participated, while the 
brave and intelligent slaves, in general, remained loyal. 

Fourth. French and English intrigues, especially the 

iDuBois, Suppression of tlie Slave Trade. 

-Bailagh, Vvhite Servitude in Virginia. 

:'Proof of this will be more clearly seen in a worli on "Slave 
Insurrections in Vlirginia from 1619 to 1830." which I hope to 
bring out within a year. 



THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 193 

latter, have, from the earliest colonial period, exerted a 
powerful influence over the slaves of Virginia. Sierra 
Leone, on the west coast of Africa, was settled by negroes 
who fought on the British side in the War of Inde- 
pendence. 

Fifth. The contiguity of three large bodies of free 
negroes — those of the West Indies, of South America, and 
of the Northern States and Canada — ^tended to incite the 
slaves of the South and to. convince the people that the 
days of slavery were numbered. 

Sixth. The Indian troubles not only incited the slaves 
to rebellion, but aroused in those sections more remote a 
sympathy for the negro which bore evil fruit. 

Seventh. No slave insurrection would have occlIrrf^I 
in Virginia but for the abolition movement in other sec- 
tions.^ On the contrary, the emancipation sentiment in 
Virginia would ultimately have led to the freedom of the 
slave and his colonization in Liberia. This example would 
have been followed by other Southern States. What Vir- 
ginia and the South feared was not emancipation, but 
fanaticism. Self-preservation, the first law of nature, 
was the basic principle in the origin as well as in the con- 
tinuance of negro slavery in Virginia. 

Eighth. The slave legislation of Virginia was efficient 
and mild. It rendered the success of slave insurrection 
impossible, and laid the foundation of a training which 
rendered the negro a good and worthy citizen. 

Ninth, Servile insurrections delayed the emancipation 
of the slaves in the United States. The emancipation sen- 
timent was strong in the South as well as in the North, 

lit was for this reason that the negroes were more closely 
guarded. Thus certificates were required from master or over- 
seer for certain privileges and the slaves required to he in their 
quarters by a certain time. The citizens of Payetteville, North 
Carolina, renewed the old custom of ringing "curfew" at 9 o'clock 
p. m., at which time all negroes were required to be in their 
quarter of the town. The custom is still in vogue there. 



194 THE SOUTHAMPTON INSURRECTION. 

but abolition without colonization beyond the limits of tlie 
United States was advocated by few. Abolition was a 
war measure rather than the result of unanimity of North- 
ern sentiment therefor. 

Tenth. The neg'ro, conscious of his inferiority, and 
equally distributed over the country, will make a peaceful 
and useful citizen. But educated for the highest offices, 
which he can never fill, he will remain a source of disturb- 
ance and insurrection, and under such circumstances it 
will be best for both races that the negro be transported 
beyond the limits of the United States. 



END. 



APPENDIX. 



Appendix A. 

A list of negroes brought before the court of Southampton, with 
their owners' names and sentencesr^^ 

Negroes. Owner. Sentence. 

Daniel Richard Porter Convicteii 

Moses J. T. Barrow Convicted 

Tom Caty Whitehead Discharged 

Jack and Andrew Caty Whitehead. ..Con. and transp't'd 

Jacob Geo. H. Charlton. . .Dis. without trial 

Isaac Geo. H. Charlton Con. and trans. 

Jack Everett Bryant Discharged 

Nathan Benj. Blunt's estate Convicted 

Nathan, Tom and Davy 

(boys) Nathaniel Francis Con, and trans. 

Davy Elizabeth Turner Convicted 

Curtis Thomas Ridley Convicted 

Stephen Thomas Ridley Convicted 

Hardy and Isham Benj. Edwards Con. and trans. 

Sam Nathaniel Francis Convici ed 

Hark Joseph Travis' estate Convicted 

Moses (a boy) Joseph Travis' estate. .Con. and trans. 

Davy Levi Waller Convicted 

Nelson Jacob Williams Convicted 

Nat Edmund Turner's estate. . . . Convicted 

Jack Wm. Reese's estate Convicted 

Dred Nathaniel Francis Convicted 

Arnold iirtist (free) Discharged 

Sam J. W. Parker Acquitted 

Ferry and Archer J. W. Parker Dis. without trial 

Jim Wm. Vaughan Acquitted 

Bob Temperance Parker Acquitted!^ 

Davy .loseph Parker 

Daniel Solomon D. Parker. .Dis. without trial 

•Toe. John C. Turner Convicted 

Thos. Haithcock (free) Sent for further trial 

iTaken from Gray's "Confession of Nat Turner" and verified by 
comparison with county records. 



196 APPENDIX. 

Negroes. Owner. Sentence. 

Lucy John. T. Barrow Convicted 

Matt Thos. Ridley Acquitted 

Jim Richard Porter Acquitted 

Exum Artes (free) Sent for further trial 

Joe Richard P. Briggs. .Dis. without trial 

Berry Newsom (free) Sent for further trial 

Stephen James Bell Acquitted 

Jim and Isaac Samuel Champion. . . .Con. and trans. 

Preston Hannah Williamson. ...... .Acquitted 

tYank ^Solomon D. Parker. . . . Con. and trans. 

Jack and Shadrack Nathaniel Simmons Acquitted 

Nelson Benj. Blunt's estate Acquitted 

Sam Peter Edwards Convicted 

Archer Arthur G. Reese Acquitted 

Isham Turner (free) Sent for further trial 

Nat Turner Putnam Moore, deceased ... Convicted 



Appendix B. 

LIST OF WHITE PEKSONS MURDERED IN THE INSURRECTION. 

7 

Joseph Travis, his wife, Mr.s. Sallie Travis, and one child; Put- 
nam Moore, Joel Westbrook; Mrs. Elizabeth Turner, Hartwell 
Publes, Sarah Newsom; Mrs. P. Reese and her son, William 
Reese; Trajan Doyle; Henry Bryant, wife, child, and wife's 
mother; Mrs. Catherine Whitehead, her son, Richard, four daugh- 
ters and a grandchild; Salathiel Francis; Mr. Nathaniel Francis' 
overseer, Mr. Henry Doyle, two nephews of Mr. N. Francis, 
named Brown; John T. Barrow, George Vaughan; Mrs. Levi 
Waller, her baby, Martlia Waller, and Lucinda Jones and eight 
other school children; Mr. William Williams and wife; Miles and 
Henry Johnson; Mrs. Caswell Worrell and child; Mi's. Rebecca 
Vaughan, her son, Arthur, and her niece, Miss Anne Eliza 
Vaughan; Mrs. John K. Williams and child; Mrs. Jacob Williams 
and three children, and Mr. E.dwin Drewry. 

The above is the list as given by Mr. Thomas R. Gray in "The 
Confession, Trial, and Execution of Nat Turner." I have added 
the names of these persons whea*ever possible. There were 
other pei*sons killed for whom it was impossible to account. Mr. 
Gray omits the overseer killed at Mrs. Rebecca Vaughan's. Some 
also say that fifteen persons, instead of eleven, were killed at 
Waller's. 



APPENDIX. 19T 

Appendix C. 

PfilNCIPAL CITIZENS INTHRVIBWED PERSONALLY. 

a. Those living at the time of the Southampton insurrection: 

Collin Kitchen (born 1806), Bowers, Va. 

Mason Ryland (colored, born 1800), Brancheville, Va. 

Miss Judith Thomas (born 1810'), Newsoms, Va. 

Sily Drake (born 1812), Pope, Va. 

Miss Fanny Thomas (1820, circa), Newsoms, Va. 

W. O. Denegre (born 1824), St. Paul, Minn. 

James E. Westbrook, Sr. (born 1820), Drewryville, Va. 

Capt. J. J. Darden (1824), Newsoms, Va 

Robert W. Screws (born 1824), Newsoms, Va. 

Benjamin Carter Everett (born 1818), Cooper's Store, Va. 

Mrs. Charity Taylor (born 1816), Garysburg, N. C. 

Hardie Musgrave (colored, born 1818), Newsoms, Va. 

Bowlin Bass (born 1820), Adams Grove, Va. 

Richard Hardin (colored, born 1810), Adams Grove, Va. 

Mrs. Rebecca, Francis (born 1820), Koskoo, Va. 

Ann Jones Sykes (colored, born 1820). Boykins, Va. 

Mrs. Vaughan (born 1821), Murfreesboro, N. C. 

Mrs. Nancy Barker (1818), Seaboard, N. C. 

Mrs. Rebecca Hart (born 1825), Turner's Cross Roads, N. C. 

Mrs. Martha Jones (born 1827), Boykins, Va. 

Mrs. Lavinia Francis (born 1810), Boykins, Va. 

Col. David Hardee, Rehoboth, N. C. 

Mrs. James Barnes (born 1824), Koskoo, Va. 

Evelyn Jones (colored, born 1821), Drewryville, Va. 

Edwin Williams, Courtland, Va. 

Mrs. Wheeler, Seaboai'd, N. C. 

Harry Clements (colored, born 1812, circa), Drewryville, Va. 

Daniel Chapman (colored, born 1828, circa), Capron, Va. 

Robert Mason (colored, born 1825), Brancheville. Va. 

Benjamin Jones (colored, born 1820), Drewryville, Va. 

b. Members of families which suffered from the insurrection., 
but born since that event: 

W. S. Francis (born 1831), Brancheville, Va. 

Miss Bettie Francis, Norfolk, Va. 

Mrs. Caroline W. Stephenson, Seaboard, N. C. 

B. F. McLemore, Conrtland, Va. 

James E. Westbrook, Jr., Drewryville, Va. 

Mrs. Charles Nicholson, Assamoosick, Va. 

Miss Mary Turner, Boykins, Va. 

Mrs. J. J. Darden, Newsoms, Va. 

Mrs. Frank Williams, Courtland, Va. 

Burrell J. Wall, Garysburg, N. C. 

Mrs. Lueinda Hill, Garysburg, N. C. 



198 APPENDIX. 

Mrs. John Dyer, Sunbeam, Va. 
Miss Freddie Parker, Franklin, Ya. 
Mi*s. Martha Drewry, Boykins, Va. 
Mr. James Barmer, Seaboard, N. C. 
William E. Leigh, Koskoo, Va. 
Mre. James D. Bryant, Franklin, Va. 
J. F. De Berry, Suffolk, Va. 
Dr. W. F. Drewry. Petersburg, Va. 
W. H. Drewry, Drewryville, Va. 

0. Otlier persons who have had advantages for gaining original 
material relating to the massacre: 

Dr. W. H. Daughtry, Sunbeam, Va. 

R. S. Barham, Rehoboth, N. C. 

Capt. James Barnes, Koskoo, Va. 

Miss Martha Livesy, Boykins, Va. 

Mi-s. Bettie Moss, Boykins, Va. 

Dr. Joseph Sykes, Boykins, Va. 

J. L. Bishop, Newsoms, Va. 

Judge J. B. Prince, Courtland, Va. 

F. P. Brent, Richmond, Va. 

J. Denson Pretlow, Courtland, Va. 

Miss Julia Pretlow, Courtland, Va. 

R. A. Brock, sec. Southern Historical Society, Richmond. Va. 

W. G. Stannard, sec. Historical Society, Richmond, Va. 

.Tames D. Denegre, St. Paul, Minn. 

Capt. W. H. Hood, Henderson, N. C. 

Dr. John Eldridge, Murfreesboro, N. C. 

J. S. Musgrave, Drevv^ryville, Va. 

John Sebrelle, Courtland, Va. 

Solomon Wells (colored), Drewryville, Va. 

Rosa Jones (colored), Drewryville, Va. 

W. S. Clements (colored), Drewryville, Va. 

Many others whom it is impossible to mention. 

Letters from various citizens. 



. Appendix D. 

BIBLIOGKAPHY. 

a. Contemporaneous materials in Newspapers and Magazine: 

The Norfolk Herald. 
The Norfolk Beacon. 
The Richmond Whig. 
The Richmond Enquirer. 
The Richmond Recorder. 
The Richmond Intelligencer. 
The Richmond Gazette. 
The National Gazette. 



APPENDIX. 199 

The Boston Gazette (1800). 

The Annual Register. 

Niles Register. 

Gentlemen's Magazine. 

Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. 

The Genius of Universal Emancipation. 

American Annual Register. 

•&. Pamphlets: 

Confession, Trial and Execution of Nat Turner. By Thomas 
Gray. 

Trial and Executions of the Negro Conspirators of Charleston, 
S. C, 1822. 

Trial and Imprisonment of Jonathan Walker at Pensacola, Fla. 

"The Slaves" (Written for the Commencement of 1831 of the 
Western Reserve College, by James B. Walker.) 

Speech of Hon. Percy Walker, of Alabama. 

Walker's Appeal. 

Slavery in Rebellion (anonynlous). 

Slave Insurrections. Josliua Coffin. 

Birney Collection of Pamphlets en Slavery (including reports, 
proceedings, etc., of the African Colonization and Anti- 
Slavery Societies). 

■■G. Magazines and papers of later date. 
Richmond Dispatch. 
The Macon Telegraph. 

The Patron and Gleaner, of Rich Square, N. 0. 
The Nat Turner Insurrection. W. H. Parker. 
Ephraim's Light in Wake Forest Student. 
Godey's Magazine (March, 1898). 

■4. Legal Documents, Proceedings, and Laws: 
Calendar of Virginia State Papers. 
Acts of tlie Virginia Assembly. 
Journal of House of Delegates. 
Journal of Virginia Senate. 
.lournal of House of Burgesses. 
Ilening. Statutes. 

J. C. Hurd. Law of Freedom and Bondage. 
Heniiig. Justice. 

Shroud. Sketch of the Laws of Slavery. 
S. B. Weelvs. Negro Suffrage in the South. 
Court Records of Southampton County. 
Saintsbury MSS. 
Spotswood Letters. 
Dinwiddle Papers. 

Letters to the Governors of Virginia. 
Petitions to Virginia Legislature. 

Maodonald. Select Documents of United States History. 
Ricliardson. ^lessages and Papers of the Presidents. 



200 APPENDIX. 

-Annals of Congress. 
Registers of Congress. 
Congressional Globe. 
Congressional Record. 

Goveramenfc Docnroents, Executive, Miscellaneous, and Report* 
of Committees, American State Papei-s. 

e. Contemporary Historians, etc.: 

Campbell. Historj- of Virginia. 

Howison. History of Virginia. 

Cooii. History of Virginia. 

Wheeler. History of North Carolina. 

Forest. Historical and Descriptive Sketches of Norfolk and 
Vicinity. 

Howe. Virginia; Its History and Antiquities. ' 

Virginia and Virginians. 

Henry Bradshaw Peason. Sketches of America. 

Kircheval. History of the Valley of Virginia. 

W. Wirt Henry. Patrick Henry ; Life, Correspondence and 
Speeches. 

Works of Thomas Jefferson. 

J. W. Barber. Interesting Events in the History of the United 
States. 

Francois Xavier Martin. History of North Carolina. 

McSherry. History of Maryland. 

Rev. T. C. Thornton. Slavery as It Is in the United States. 

Archy Moor's (a Virginia negi*o) Memoirs. 

Proceedings of the Convention which elected Lincoln, in 1860. 

Slaughter. Colonial Church of Virginia. 

Clarkson. History of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. 

Meade. Old Churches and Fajnilies. 

Gillie. Historical Collections. 

O'Callaghah. Voyages of the Slavers, 1659, 1663, and the Slave 
Trade Under the Dutch. 
Later Writers: 

Neill. Virginia Vetusta. 

Virginia Historical Collections, vol. VI, The Relation of Vir- 
ginia to African Colonization, by R. A. Brock. 

James Bryce. Impressions of South Africa. 

Dr. Robert Brown. The Story of Africa. 

Ballagh. White Servitude in Virginia. 

Confederate Military History. 

Brackett. The Negro in Maryland. 

George W. Williams (colored). History of the Negro Race in 
America from 1619 to 1880. 

Moore. History of North Carolina. 

Cooley. Abolition of Slave Trade (Harvard Studies). 

Callahan. Cuba and Anglo-American Relations. 

E. S. Simmons. Solution of the Race Problem. 

J. R. Beard. Toussant L'Ouverture. 



APPENDIX. 201 

D. A. Straker (negro)? Reflections on the Life and Times of 
Toussant I/Ouverture, tlie Negro Haytien. 
Handbooli of Virginia. 

Hart. Building of ttie Republic; Formation of the Union. 
Handbook of North Carolina. 
Wilson. Division and Reunion. 
Sumner. Andrew Jackson. 
Schouler. History of the United States. 
Von Hoist, Constitutional History of the United States. 
Federalist. P. L. Ford's Edition. 
Duruy. History of France. 
Ingram. History of Slavery. 

James R. Gilmore. Personal Recollections of Abraham Lincoln 
and the Civil War. 

Historical Novels: 

"Judith," Marion Harland. 
"Homoselle," Mary Spear Tieman. 



VITA. 

William Sidney Drewry was born in Petersburg, Virginia, July 
14, 1870. His primary education was received from private in- 
structors and in the free-schools of Southampton County, Virginia. 
In 1888 he entered the University of Virginia, where, in June, 1892, 
he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and, in 1893, the degrees 
of Bachelor of Philosophy and Master of Arts. 

The session of 1893-94 he taught in the Margaret Academy, 
Onancock, Virginia. He founded, 1894, the Military Academy, 
Newport News, Virginia, and from there was called, September, 1895, 
to become Associate Principal of the Fayetteville (N. C.) Military 
Academy, This position he resigned in 1897 to pursue advanced 
work in history, economics, and politics at the Johns Hopkins 
University, where, 1897, he was appointed Scholar in History, and, 
1898 and 1899, Honorary Scholar. 



31+7 7 -S^ 



